Signed Sealed Delivered
by Filanthi
Summary: Innora was this ordinary girl, living her life and studying at university when the strangest of things happened... She found herself in a place called Kirkwall...  WHAT? HOW? WHY? Well I guess you have to read in order to find out :D
1. Chapter 1: Kirkwall? What is this place?

**CHAPTER 1: KIRKWALL? WHAT IS THIS PLACE?**

- "Pff… History of Medical Sciences! I hate this subject…"

- "If you had actually studied, you wouldn't…"

- "I had inspiration", Innora snapped back at her friend and without waiting for a response continued, "inspiration isn't something you can turn on or off Melinda! It comes and goes and you better use it while you can".

- "I see… Well explain it to your dear mother then! I'm sure she'll be thrilled to hear that you failed a subject just because you had to do a little bit of sketching!"

- "It wasn't a little bit of sketching… Uuuugh well whatever! As for my mother, she will get the news only when I've passed stupid history!"

In times like these (very often that is), Innora have learned to ignore her friend's scolding. She just couldn't grasp the meaning of spending time in a creative way. Melinda was the kind of girl who would study, go out with her friends, party all night long if the circumstances felt right and that was about it in her life so far. But Innora was completely different.

She was indeed a good student but she always liked stuff like drawing, gaming , creating music, a little bit of writing and she was very keen to dump studying anytime in order to occupy herself with something of the above. She and Melinda didn't have much in common but nevertheless enjoyed spending time together. Besides without Melinda, Innora would be locked inside her room 24/7 sinking deep in her fantasy themed stories and drawings. She could spent hours and hours just daydreaming about fairytales with dragons, elves, mages, heroes , cursed swords and the truth was that she would give anything for them actually coming alive. But wishes are just wishes…

Sometimes this fact would get her melancholic but maybe it was just London's weather… She was used in Greece's sunny days.

- "Anyway" Melinda disrupted her thoughts, "I'm expecting you tonight…"

- "Oh I don't know Mel! I feel so very tired" Innora put on her best puppy look

- "Then take a nap when you get back home! You've promised me three weeks ago Nora, REMEMBER?" Melinda said with a murderous look in her eyes.

Damn, she saw right through me, Innora thought. Well I've been avoiding this for weeks, might as well be done with it once and for all.

- "Very well Mel, I will come to the party tonight!"

- "Perfect then!" Melinda's face suddenly lit up, "Wear something nice, will you?" were her last words as she started to leave and heading back home…

"What's the point?" Innora wondered, "The rain is going to ruin it anyway!" Even after all these years, London was still difficult for her to adjust in…

Three years ago she moved to London after she finished school in Greece, in order to study medicine. Her parents were divorced for as long as she could remember and her father (an English man) returned to his home city London and had been there since the break up. Over the years, they never saw each other much due to her father's long hours of work so when he proposed the idea of moving to London for her studies she accepted. After all, she loved exploring new places and he offered her somewhere to stay along with some privacy. So there she was… on her way home to her father's.

As usually he wasn't there so she just grabbed something to eat and turned on the TV just to delude herself into believing she had some kind of company. While she was eating her lunch, the words of the spokesman's of the news caught her attention.

"The strange series of disappearing events continue to worry the citizens of London, as more young people seem to have disappeared over the last three nights. The police announced that an investigation is in process and requests of the people of London, as a measure of precaution, to be careful during the night's hours and if possible stay in their homes until more information on this case is gathered. If going out is necessary, police advises doing so in small groups!"

A matter of days, Innora thought. So many people, disappearing in such a small amount of time, the criminals will get reckless at some point. She finished her meal and then went to prepare for the upcoming night…

* * *

><p>- "Daaaaaaaaamn…. Where is my dress?" Innora screamed. Her state of mind at the particular moment could be called lunatic! "But it was here like two minutes ago…"<p>

- "Here it is sweetheart!" and with that her father handed her the dress.

- "Good eyes, Don!"

Her father was finally back from work and just in the right time! Don had this supernatural gift of spotting things immediately and moreover he didn't mind when her room looked like an atomic bomb had just been exploded in it.

- "So you're doing it?" Don asked with an obvious smirk on his face. He loved teasing her.

- "You couldn't just keep it to yourself, could you?" Innora snapped back at him.

- "And miss that precious look on your face? HA, not in a lifetime. Besides I'm glad you finally decided to have a bit of fun!" Don looked at her with a broad smile across his face. She knew he was starting to worry about her, and her passion of staying in, simply drawing.

- "Dear mother wasn't so happy to hear about this!"

- "Ha" Don laughed sarcastically, "she's just scared about those disappearing incidents. I'm surprised she didn't ask me to tie you on you a chair or something."

- "Drop it Don".

- "Consider it dropped." And he made his way out of her room, down to the kitchen.

Half an hour later, Innora was ready. She wore a green emerald dress which perfectly matched her light brown hair, fair skin and dark brown eyes. She stood in front of the TV just so her father could notice her.

- "How do I look?" she asked him with the most anxious tone. She hated public appearances.

- "Gorgeous, as always!" Don replied full of pride for his daughter. "Wait a moment so I can put on my shoes! I'll drop you at Mel's so you guys can go to this party together!"

- "Father" (things just got serious) "Mel's house is two blocks away from here and I'm 21 years old. I think I can actually manage to make it there unharmed, besides it's a 5 minutes' walk from here.

Don hesitated for a moment. He didn't want to leave her on her own but he understood that she wasn't his little girl anymore and it wouldn't seem right babysitting her.

- "Alright Innora" he finally said "but call me when you reach Mel's will you?"

- "Sure thing! Bye Don".

- "Have fun love!"

* * *

><p>It was a very cold night! Innora felt chills racing through her entire body. Wear something nice she thought, pfffff great idea, she was lucky it was a 5 minutes' walk because otherwise she would have froze to death for sure. She increased her pace in order to reach Mel's house faster.<p>

Out of the blue, she heard a weird noise coming from an alley at her right. Her heart started to beat faster and she put on a hard effort in order not to run away. It was probably nothing, she thought to herself. But just a few meters away from Mel's house she heard the weird noise again…

- "What the hell?" she murmured… She glanced quickly behind her to make sure nobody was following her…

And out of nowhere she saw it…

A bright blue light, in a circular form, appeared just behind her back. She stood still for what seemed to be a great amount of time and she wasn't sure if this thing didn't let her move or it was just the shock. She tried to scream but it felt like her voice was silenced and her mind wasn't able to think straight anymore. Then the answer to her question became clear…

This light began to pull her in, slowly bringing her closer to its source and she couldn't do anything to prevent it. She thought it would hurt when it reached for her but it didn't. All she was able to feel was this terrible suspicion of losing her entire self piece after piece…

* * *

><p>The loud noise of heavy footsteps was the sound which finally made her wake up. Her throat was burning and her head felt like it was about to explode. With a great amount of effort she turned to look at whoever was standing above her. It was a man in heavy armor! "God, I must've hit my head real hard this time" she muttered through her teeth.<p>

Then the tall man reached for her and for a moment she thought he was going to hurt her but he didn't. On the contrary he helped her stand up and gave her a flask of water. She refused of course…

-"Serah…" the man finally spoke, "Serah are you alright?"

-"Who are you?" Innora replied in a very low voice, "Just take me back to my father!" she quickly snapped at the man.

-"And where is your father serah?"

-"In London of course, 44 Lupus Street!"

The man seemed troubled by her reply. He remained silent for a while and all he did was staring at her with the most I-feel-sorry-for-you look she had ever seen.

- "What?" She was really angry now.

- "Serah," the man paused for a second so he could choose the words he would use better "there is no such place as London. As a matter of a fact I've never heard of such place in my entire life."

- "Then you suck at geography obviously" Innora screamed at the man. She was really mad right now. "And what is this place then? If not for London?"

- "This is Kirkwall, serah. You're in Kirkwall! Can't you recognize the gallows?" The man said…

- "Kirkwall?" she asked herself while agony began to form inside her. "What is this place?"


	2. Chapter 2: Lost and Found

**CHAPTER 2: LOST AND FOUND**

Innora remained speechless for what seemed to be a lot of hours. Men in armor, women with weird dresses who seemed to have "popped out" from two centuries ago, people with fake ears (probably… hopefully) who looked like elves.

"SH**" she thought… "Goodbye sanity"! Over the last few hours she had convinced herself that either one of her daydreams got realistic this time or she was plain crazy! She could be dead too, but she didn't entertain the idea much because she felt really alive at the time being.

These men in armor, templars they called themselves, were just standing still (stationed by their commander most likely) and some of them couldn't pass up the chance to glance at the new girl in town. Their captain, whose name was Cullen, was the templar who had found her when she woke up and brought her to this strange building known as templar hall (from the little she was able to hear).It was an enormous building, made of stone which had this strict, disciplined look about it and the ability to send chills through her spine.

This Cullen lad introduced himself to her and asked a few questions about her life like where she was born, her parent's names, if she was a noble lady and stuff like that. He was quite polite considering the fact that her answers made his face's color turn pale and all he could mutter was a "yes, aha, hmmm, I see…". Without a doubt he was convinced that she had lost her mind but he kept talking anyway. He told her that he would speak to the city guard's captain about her situation because events like this are not in his jurisdiction." Protocols, they're everywhere" she thought.

And after that, he left her rot at this cursed templar's hall and she waited ever since for his return. The truth was that she only anticipated the moment which would wake her up somehow. She pinched herself quite often but nothing had occurred. This had to be a dream because in any other alternative she was pretty much fucked.

* * *

><p>At last, knight-captain Cullen arrived! By his side there was this tall woman, in armor of course, with ginger hair, freckles and emerald eyes. Innora stared at her for a while… She seemed important, and probably was, and furthermore she had this aura of confidence, strength and boldness! In any way though, she wasn't the feminine type…<p>

The woman sat on a chair at the opposite side of Innora and after a long moment of plain staring at her (which could be a profile analyzing or other psychology stuff police uses during an interrogation if they were back to the real world), she finally spoke:

"Greetings young lady!" the woman's voice was steady, calm, full of strength "Innora your name is?" the woman went for a heartwarming smile but diplomacy or simple talking clearly wasn't her area of expertise.

"Innora it is!"

"Pleased to meet you then Innora! My name is Aveline Vallen and I am the captain of the guard!"

"Good for you then!" Innora replied in the most sarcastic tone she could pull off. This wasn't the time neither the place for meaningless chatting and exchanging of titles. She just wanted to know what the hell was going on… well scratch that; she just wanted to leave this place!

"Hah" Aveline laughed and by the look on her face Innora knew how awkward this situation was for her. "Thanks" the woman continued. "Um… Knight-captain Cullen told me that he found you last night, unconscious, at the gallows' courtyard. He told me about some things you have mentioned and I fear that you must have somehow hit your head real hard. Do you remember anything before reaching the Gallows?" Aveline was really trying to be polite but Innora wasn't in the mood for continuing this charade.

"Dear woman, Aveline right? You guys are either in my head so there's no point in having a conversation with you or you just – I don't know- just got back from Comic-con and you're messing with me. Look, just drop this and let me go back home to my father. I don't even know what Gallows is and all this Lord of the Rings stuff… I love it , believe me, but now is not the time for fantasy role-playing ok?" She gave Aveline the same puppy look she had given Melinda the day before. Who knows..? Maybe now it would actually work…

Aveline and Knight-captain Cullen exchanged troubled looks and then Aveline whispered something to him. The templar seemed disturbed…

"What are we going to do with her?" he whispered back but Innora was able to hear him anyway.

"I'll take her to this healer I know. Maybe he can help her get back to her senses." Aveline replied…

"What kind of healer is this?" Cullen got nervous out of the blue.

"A healer who heals. Now, knight-captain, all you need to know is that you won't have to worry about the girl anymore. I'll take care of her and try to return her to her family when she drops all the crazy talk."

Then Aveline finally turned to Innora.

"Come with me young lady. And put this on will you?" Aveline handed her a cloak. "I don't know where you got this green thing you're wearing but I'm DEFINITELY not letting you walk with me in this. You'd draw too much attention on us and drawing attention is always bad. Please put this on and let us be off!"

"Like I have a freaking choice!" Innora hissed, put on the cloak and then followed Aveline to who-knows-where …

* * *

><p>It has to be a movie's filming, Innora thought. All this time she was following around Aveline, they were walking down the city's (named Kirkwall apparently) alleys. It was like the cities she dreamed of in her fantasy – themed stories; the ones with elves and dragons, and heroes and sword fighting! She never imagined seeing something like this in her entire life.<p>

Kirkwall was grand and majestic; from what little she was able to see, it had big streets and stone paved courtyards, enormous statues, wonderful plants and the people were so strange. Some of them looked really snob, some were just walking casually and others had this mysterious look full of suspicion on their faces. Just like in every decent fantasy book or game she had ever read or played.

Suddenly the scenery began to change. As she and Aveline were heading to meet whoever they were heading to meet, they reached this place which was different from the rest of Kirkwall. The ground was covered in thick dirt and there was this particular stench which made Innora feel sick. There were no houses, just bedrolls lying here and there, and some people behind benches selling stuff. Innora's eyes traced the ground and her gaze was fixed upon some square wooden things on it; they looked like doors leading underground.

And then she glanced at the people and her heart stopped for a moment. They were all so skinny, like they hadn't eaten for weeks, and were covered in dirt but they didn't seem to mind. Their eyes betrayed the state of misery they were in and that awful feeling of despair. Innora was in shock. Never in her life had she actually witnessed with her own eyes people living under these circumstances. Sorrow took over her.

"Aveline?" Innora turned to the tall woman.

"What is it girl?" she answered at the call of her name.

"What is this place?" the mixed feelings of anger, sorrow and disgust were obvious from the sound of Innora's voice.

"Hmmph…" Aveline sighed. "This is Darktown! Here live the long forgotten souls of refugees, poor sods and filthy criminals. It is the den of inequity and desperation. The people here fight every day in order to have a chance to live the next…" Innora could recognize the feeling of sadness through the woman's eyes.

She paused for a while to take a good look at Aveline.

"What's wrong?" Aveline asked the girl.

"You're the captain of the guard, Aveline!" Innora protested just as a little child would to his almighty parents, "and while I don't know what that means exactly, I'm smart enough to understand you're someone important in Kirkwall. So why don't you help these people? Why don't you make their lives better?" Innora's mind was clouded by her anger. What these people were dealing with was unjust. No one should be forced to live in this kind of way.

"Things are not as simple as you might think, girl! I'd like to help but I still answer to the viscount and as long as he doesn't deal with Darktown I can't take chances on my own. I am responsible for my guards and if I organize something by myself just to fight off the crime around here, which is a lot to deal with I assure you, I would lose a lot of good men. These things need planning and good thinking!" Aveline did her best to remain calm but Innora wasn't a fool not to understand the irritation in the woman's words.

"We always have a choice! We just prefer the easiest and less painful one!" she snapped back at Aveline. That was Innora's way of thinking! There was nothing Aveline could say to change her mind. She believed more than anything in the world that people always have choices. There are no dead-ends or one-way paths; facts in life always come in pairs!

"We're here!" Aveline said.

Innora spotted what seemed to be an abandoned house (the only kind of house which could have existed in this rotten place). Aveline walked past the door and she did the same. This situation was officially out of her hands.

The first thing she noticed when she entered the big room was the people on the beds. They looked as if they were about die and probably… they were about to die! At the back of the room there was this tall man in robes. "_No armor?What a rebel!"_ Innora thought to herself and chuckled. The man had blond hair which was long enough in order to tie some of it in this short ponytail, while the rest were left loose on his shoulders, but as for the other of his characteristics she couldn't say.

He was leaning on a sick man, who was lying on one of the beds, examining him closely, so she wasn't able to see his face. Innora guessed he did see them approaching but was too busy to care. After a few minutes the man in robes raised his hands on the air just above the sick's man chest and a blue light, which seemed like waves of energy coming from the man himself, appeared.

"AAAAAAAAGH" Innora screamed! "DAAAAAAAAAMN! AAAAAAAGH!

She wasn't herself anymore. She flipped out; she started to run towards the door, screaming as loud as she could but wasn't able to move due to the fact of Aveline grabbing her. The woman's grip was too strong for her to break loose so she just continued to scream helplessly.

The man looked startled and the blue light disappeared. He began to move towards her, an effort to approach her perhaps?

The last thing she was able to see was Aveline's blurred face before losing her senses and passing out…


	3. Chapter 3: To meet a mage

**CHAPTER 3: TO MEET A MAGE**

"Anders, is she alright? It's been 4 hours…" Aveline asked worried.

"She's fine Aveline, she just passed out!"

Anders answered her question without lifting his gaze from the unconscious girl. He was so curious about her; he wanted to know who she was, where did she come from, the reason she was afraid of him….

He was leaning casually on his clinic's wall taking a good look at her but he did not dare to come closer in case she woke up. For some reason he couldn't quite understand, he scared the poor girl as hell so now he had decided to keep his distance. "She's already been through enough" he thought. Aveline filled him in about last night's events; the girl unconscious at the Gallows, that bloody templar who found her and of course all these senseless things she was blabbering about since she woke up.

"Maker, what happened to this poor soul?" he wondered but before he was able to continue his thinking, Aveline's voice interrupted him.

"Look, Anders! She's waking up!" Aveline cheered.

Innora finally opened her eyes. She had this awful headache again and her eyesight was blurred but after a minute it returned back to normal. She saw Aveline standing by her side with this worried look on her face. Then at the far end of the room she spotted the man in robes. Panic started to form within her. What the hell was he? What was this thing coming out of his hands? The blue light reminded her of that "thing" which she saw in London, back when her mind could still be called "sane" territory.

She and the man locked eyes and although she really wanted to avert hers from his, she just couldn't. Man, was he handsome. In fact he was the most handsome guy she had ever seen. His blond hair shined when it was given the chance to "capture" the rays of the afternoon's sun, and his golden brown eyes left her the impression he could see right through her very soul. He had stubble and from what she could tell he hadn't shaved for 2 or 3 days. The last but not less important little detail (well maybe not little) which perfected his beauty was the fact that he was tall with broad shoulders and had what seemed to be a well-shaped body under those robes he wore.

Surprise struck her; she wasn't afraid anymore of the man. There was this thing about him which seemed to ease her mind.

"Hello, Innora!" the man finally spoke. "How do you feel?" he seemed concerned about her. His voice was tender and soothing.

"My head is about to explode but other than that, I feel fine!" she replied after a long pause. She should be afraid of this man but she couldn't bring herself to do so. "You know my name?"

"Yes! Aveline told me. Look, Innora, I am a healer. Will you let me examine you? I won't hurt you, I promise, all I want is to make sure you are alright. I'm Anders by the way."

Innora stared at him for a second. His words sounded sincere enough and she didn't feel threatened by his presence but, from the little experience she had, people are never what they seem to be.

"Alright" she finally said and then hesitated for a moment, "but if you try anything weird with those hands of yours I WILL kick you. And my kicks cause incredible pain just so you know…' Innora tried to sound dangerous but obviously she failed!

Anders chuckled as he started to make his way towards her and Aveline laughed loudly making Innora's cheeks blush. "Ugh… I'll kick you, what a silly thing to say! I am stupid indeed" she stated in her thoughts and her monologue would have continued if not for Anders who was standing right in front of her now.

"It will only take a minute" he said and then he began examining her.

He checked her body and head for any obvious bruises or wounds and then he started to gently press her head in different spots each time, requesting that she'd tell him if she felt any sudden pain. Innora knew quite enough in order to be sure that her physical condition faced no serious problems (3 years studying medicine had actually paid off) so no worries there but as for her mental one, she couldn't say.

Anders took a step back and looked her straight in the eyes before speaking his mind. She held her breath; a reaction to his gorgeous looks.

You seem to have no injuries but I can't be sure when I examine you like this. I have to use my magic just for a little bit!"

"Ha" Innora laughed a nervous laugh "And while you do that I'll write a letter to my dear friend Frodo asking him about his trip to Mordor!"

"Sorry, What?" Anders seemed really confused by her words.

"Please, Anders! You seem like a nice guy so don't lie to me. I may have flipped out a few hours ago, I have to admit your illusions are realistic in an extraordinary way, but you guys need to stop messing with me… Just let's go back to talking about normal things! Correction: let's talk about normal things for once!" Innora's eyes traveled from Ander's face to Aveline's and back. They seemed lost!

"Oh come on…" Innora continued in an irritated tone "Magic?Really now? What's next; elves and unicorns or dragon riders? These things exist only in fairytales you guys! I wish they were true too but they're not. We're all grownups here so let us talk about what the hell is going on in this place and leave the fairytales to children, shall we?"

Anders looked like he had just been slapped in the face and Aveline covered hers with her hand. The three remained silent for a while. Finally Anders with an expression of disbelief and surprise on his face managed to mutter a few words.

"You don't…" he shook his head in a way which clearly showed that he couldn't believe himself for saying this out loud "You mean you don't…. believe in Magic?" and with that he created fire out of thin air…

It was Innora's turn now to look like she had been slapped in the face. She began to slowly back away from Anders but her back stopped at the wall behind her. Nope it wasn't a wall, just Aveline!

"What are you?" Innora's horror could not be described by simple words.

Anders expression changed from shocked into troubled.

"I am a mage, Innora!"

* * *

><p>Over the last few hours Innora had remained at Anders's clinic. Her shock was long gone though she couldn't help but feel numb. Sick or wounded people came and went during the afternoon's hours and Innora silently watched as Anders healed them one by one with this strange blue light coming out of his hands. "Magic" the word rang strangely in her mind. It exists! After a long dialogue between her and herself she came to the conclusion that all this wasn't a dream and furthermore she wasn't crazy or dead either. Her best guess was that this light in London teleported her somehow to Kirkwall and she was certain that whoever or whatever brought her there was responsible for all the disappearances in London too… Maybe all the other people who had disappeared were in Kirkwall just like her. She had to find out but she needed help!<p>

When the last patient was healed, Anders who looked exhausted sat on a chair next to her. Aveline had to return to her duties therefore Anders and Innora were alone in the clinic. The man looked at her with worry in his eyes but her gaze did not meet his.

"Do you feel better?"

"Yes, thank you for your concern! I appreciate it." she said in a low voice "I also wanted to apologize for my behavior earlier. It's just that , where I come from, no magic is used and you're the first one I meet who… you know… who is a mage!" she couldn't believe the words that just came out of her mouth.

She lifted her gaze from the ground and finally met his to see him smiling at her.

"Then you must come from a land very far away, because all across Thedas magic always had its place of honor." he was being sarcastic but before Innora had the chance to question him about it he continued speaking.

"How old are you really?"

"Guess!" she smirked.

"Hmmph… I'm guessing all day!" he took a good look at her before continuing "I think you must be about 14 years old or 15 maybe."

"WHAT?" she said surprised in a loud voice. "Man you suck at guessing! I won't risk you taking another guess." She chuckled "I am 21!"

"Maker, NO!" Anders had this frozen- surprised smile on his face. "But… you're so short!"

Well that was true partially! Considering the standards back at her world she could be called short, though not too short for a woman, but in Kirkwall standards were different apparently. All the women she'd seen there were tall with bodies full of curves whereas she was so much shorter and slimmer. She imagined she could pass for a female of another race too.

A minute later someone knocked on the door. Innora looked at Anders.

"I've called a friend! I think she can help you! Come in Hawke!"

The clinic's door opened and a woman walked into the room! Innora was stunned by her beauty. She had impossibly long black hair, pale white skin and crystal blue eyes. No flaws could be found among her delicate features. She was tall (of course she was tall) but a bit shorter than Anders and she wore a tight armor which perfectly highlighted her gorgeous figure . Innora noticed the sheathed daggers on each side of her hips.

" I came as fast as I could!" Hawke said to Anders. Her voice had a mysterious tone about it; seductive in a way! "Is this she?" Ander nodded and she turned to face Innora.

Innora smiled at her and Hawke did the same!

"I'm so pleased to meet you!" Hawke greeted the girl with a wide smile while the two women shook hands. "My name is Cornelia Hawke!"

"I am Innora, the pleasure is all mine!" finally a civilized greeting she thought.

It was Ander's turn to speak now.

"Cornelia, apparently Innora is far away from her home and we have to find a way to help her. I'm sure Aveline filled you in with all the details, while she was heading to the viscount's keep, about Innora's situation so I'm asking you now… Is there a problem?" Anders waited for Hawke's response and Innora realized she probably missed something along the way of this dialogue.

"Of course my friend!" Hawke said in a cheery tone. "We will help her find information about that night at the Gallows and until then she can stay with me at the estate." The feeling of sweet relief was obvious through Anders's eyes. "We shall better be off actually" Cornelia continued "Innora you'll like it in Hightown!"

Innora paused for a moment. Hawke was being nice to her and Anders's concern for her made her heart feel warm but she wouldn't be locked up in an estate waiting for complete strangers help her out. She had to find something to occupy herself with.

"Anders?" Innora finally said turning her head so hers and the mage's eyes could meet once again. "Back home I used to study what you're doing here in Kirkwall… "She paused to choose her next words carefully "…healing! I am no mage but I know how to treat a patient, clean wounds, prevent infections and all this kind of stuff. I've seen your work here today. You do a great job but the patients are too many and your magic has its limits. Let me help you, please!" she gave him her most pleading look "I won't be a problem or anything of that you have my word, and besides I can't just sit in an estate without having anything to do! I might as well kill myself to avoid certain boredom."

Anders remained skeptical for what seemed to be a lot of minutes.

"The truth is that I need help here in the clinic!" he paused again… "Tell you what, you come here tomorrow and you show me the things you claim to know about healing and if I find your knowledge sufficient then you are welcome to help me whenever you want! Is that alright with you?"

"It is perfect! See you tomorrow mage!" and with a chuckle Innora followed Hawke out of the clinic to that estate of hers… She could swear she saw a wide smile across Anders's face before she turned her back to him… or maybe she just imagined things as usually…


	4. Chapter 4: Little fights in the night

**CHAPTER 4: LITTLE FIGHTS IN THE NIGHT!**

As the weeks went by, Kirkwall seemed more appealing to Innora. She certainly missed her old life but since no clues about how she appeared there were discovered, she had decided to "always look on the bright side of life" as the Pythons used to sing. Besides she was quite fond of this town. She liked strolling in Hightown or admiring the beautiful estates and giving her naughtiest looks to snob nobles just to laugh at their shocked expressions when that happened. In any way though, she preferred Lowtown rather than this high class society! She loved Lowtown's cosmopolitan "essence". There, you could see any kinds of people; humans, elves, dwarves walking by you all the time! And of course there was and the Hanged Man!

Innora adored the place! Usually its patrons were pirates, thugs, and random alcoholic people and it had this particular stench of bad breath and vomit but she wasn't put off. The hanged man reminded her all the stories she used to read as a child and furthermore all the taverns she encountered in every single role-playing game she'd ever played looked exactly like this one. Besides it was the only place you could get the local news or listen to some unbelievable tales the patrons loved telling. Her favorites were Varric's, one of Hawke's companions, with whom she had become friends!

Varric was even kind enough to rent her a room in the Hanged Man, because she loved it and she just couldn't live anymore in Hawke's estate. Cornelia was always adventuring with the little merry group they had formed and she, being completely useless when it came to fighting, had to stay home and kill her time with the mabari. So her joy couldn't be described when Varric announced to her that she would spend all of her nights in the tavern.

Anders almost burnt him alive for that!

"I swear to the Maker, Varric" she remembered him saying in his angriest tone "if anyone even looks at her in a strange way let alone lay his hands on her after I 'm done with him I'll be coming for you! She just learned how to hold a dagger, you fool! She can't defend herself…"

"Easy Blondie… no one will hurt Snips while I'm here…" and then Varric burst out laughing.

Obviously Anders had his objections but she owed one to Varric. In order to return the favor, she used to play and sing songs she knew on a what-seemed-to-be-a-guitar-but-it-really-wasn't Anders had given her, every day for Varric and for the others she had met. Varric's favorite was a song she loved too, titled "First of May" due to its lyrics most likely!

"You know the weirdest of songs Snips" he used to tell her.

During the daytime she would help Anders in his clinic! He was thrilled with her "healing" abilities.

"Damn it Nora!" He often liked to say when she would clean a wound thoroughly or explain to him complicated illnesses and their symptoms "Where were you all this time?"

She and Anders were really good friends now, even though they hardly knew each other! When he wasn't out helping Hawke or vanishing to do some "things" he still refused to speak of, they would spend all of their free time together. He told her about this whole mages-templars situation; his years in the circle, blood magic, abominations, children stripped away from their mother's arms, fanatic templars, oppression and the need for a major change. She agreed with him. No one should be treated like this just because they were different!

Anders was the only one to whom she had told the truth about where she came from and he had actually believed her. To all the others, they've agreed to say that she was born in this land far away from Thedas, where magic is banned, and that was the reason she flipped out when she witnessed it for the first time. It was a good story and they've decided to stick with it. Every night she, Anders and Varric would hang out at the Hanged Man and occasionally others would join; Isabela, Hawke who came always along with that Fenris lad, that strange Merrill girl, the irritating chantry boy Sebastian something, and Aveline when she wasn't on duty. Innora and Varric usually were drunk by the end of the night (she loooooved ale) but Anders didn't even taste alcohol. When asked why he would turn dead serious and say: "It brings out my other ugly self!"

She wanted to tell him nothing about him could ever be called ugly but she kept it to herself.

It was a regular night at the Hanged Man; Anders, Varric and she were just chilling out, chatting about all kinds of things when Hawke along with Fenris appeared! Innora realized that Anders clenched his fists and the smile on his face vanished.

Hawke and Fenris looked exhausted. Someone could assume they had just fought a horde of dark pawns… or was it darkspawns?

"Hawke!" Varric waved his hands to the ravishing woman. She spotted him and made her way towards their table with Fenris following her.

"Hawke!" Varric repeated "I thought you'd miss me getting drunk!"

"And who would want to miss that?" said Fenris sarcastically.

"My point exactly!" Varric chuckled. "So where were you two?"

"Hmm you remember Feynriel right? The mage boy who we sent to live with the Dalish?" Hawke raised her eyebrow.

"What of him?" It was Anders's turn to speak now.

"Well his mother contacted me earlier this morning asking me if I could help her son who couldn't seem to wake up. Long story short, he was a dreamer- a very rare and specific type of mage- and I had to enter the Fade in order to save him. Fenris insisted on taking him along and so did Merrill and Aveline so we four entered the Fade. It didn't go exactly as I planned but what matters is that Feynriel is safe now and on his way to Tevinter where he can find someone to train him properly!"

Hawke always helped the mages. She had a soft spot for them maybe because her sister was one, too!

"Are you crazy, Hawke?" Anders was listening to her all this time with horror visible on his face. "You could have been killed in there! How could you be as careless as not taking a proper mage at least with you?" Anders was screaming at her now.

"Exactly my thought!" Fenris commented bitterly. "How could she be as careless as taking any mage with her…?"

"Shut up, elf!" Anders snapped at him.

"I had Merrill." Hawke said.

"Oh you had Merrill? The girl who talks with demons… how nice! Are you kidding me Hawke? You should've taken me with you."

Innora was quite shocked by Anders's reaction. Hawke was fine, obviously, and she was a woman who was more than able to take care of herself! What was wrong with him?

"Really Anders?" Hawke began to raise her voice "And what would happen if I had you in the Fade? Would it even be YOU? Do you remember the last time you lost yourself or do you want me to remind you?"

Anders seemed like he was in pain now, Innora could clearly see it. He looked at Hawke straight in the eyes, then headed for the door and exited the Hanged Man. Something was going on that Innora couldn't fully grasp yet. She searched Varric's eyes for answers but the dwarf gave away information only when he wished to.

"Varric" Hawke spoke again "would you be as kind as accompanying me and Fenris tomorrow to the slavers den where this Hadrianna is. Fenris needs to be free of that bitch! I wanted Anders to come too but something tells me he won't be willing to come anymore so I'll just ask Isabela…"

"Bianca and I are always in your service Hawke; you know that!"

"Thank you my friend!" Hawke's lips formed a kind smile. "I think I need to get back to the estate, see how my mother is faring. By the way she misses you Innora!"

"Tell her I'll visit soon!" Leandra, Hawke's mother, was such a nice person!

"That I will!" Hawke said as she and Fenris were heading for the door!

Innora stood up and wore the cloak which Aveline had given her the first time they met!

"Where are you going Snips?" Varric asked with curiosity.

"To find Anders. I worry about him…" and it was truth. Since he disappeared she couldn't stop worrying about him. What were all those things Hawke said about the mage? Her behavior towards him was plain mean but Innora was under this awful impression that there were things about Anders which the eyes couldn't meet…

"It's dark Snips! Wait for tomorrow!"

"Varric I'm going to find Anders and that's final! If you're concerned about me then come along but I won't waste another minute here!"

"Bianca, honey... "Varric turned to his crossbow "No rest for us tonight!"

* * *

><p>Anders was nowhere to be found. She and Varric visited his clinic in Darktown only to find it empty.<p>

"What the hell Varric? Where could he possibly be?" Innora asked the man. "Do you think something happened to him?"

"No…" Varric seemed skeptical… "But let's head to the Gallows shall we? Just to be on the safe side…"

Innora's heart was ready to explode from the agony! No, the templars couldn't have caught him…

* * *

><p>Usually the Gallows was a quiet place but not during this particular night. When Varric and Innora finally arrived they heard people screaming, loud voices and murmurs. What drew their attention though was a group of templars who were staring at something. Innora and Varric exchanged troubled looks. They moved forward while holding their breaths. The chantry boy (as Innora liked to call the exiled prince) was there too…<p>

"Choir boy" it was the nickname Varric had invented for the prince but Innora liked the one she had came up with better, "what happened here? So many templars at once I'm guessing it has to be a party or a funeral…"

"A funeral most likely…" Sebastian replied in a serious tone. "Someone killed the twenty templars stationed for the night at the Gallows courtyard!"

"Mages?" Innora asked in horror.

"No, not mages! Men with swords slit the throats of these poor souls. The situation is rather odd. The criminals didn't enter the templar's hall but killed every templar in the courtyard with nobody noticing. I hope they find peace at the Maker's side!"

"Varric what shall we do now?" Innora turned to the dwarf.

He was about to reply when she heard knight-captain Cullen's voice calling for her.

"Serah Innora!" Cullen was almost running towards her. She had to take a step back in order to avoid a certain crash with the man's armor.

"Knight-captain?"

"Come with me please serah". His words were polite but his tone implied otherwise. He was in frenzy!

"Do you have a problem with my friend here?" Varric asked Cullen with Bianca warm in his hands.

Cullen completely ignored Varric, grabbed Innora by her hand and cornered her to the nearest wall. The man was furious. His body was pressing hers against the wall which made her chest hurt, and his hands were placed in a threatening mannern just above her head. In every movie she'd seen so far, every rape incident started somewhat like this. But Cullen's intentions seemed more murderous…

He placed his lips close to her ear and whispered to her angrily:

"I don't know who the hell are you or what the hell is wrong with you but the men who died tonight were good and devoted people! And they died because of you! I can't prove it yet but I just know!"

Innora couldn't say a word. She looked like she just had been struck by a lightning bolt. He thought she killed those templars? But she couldn't even wield a sword let alone kill someone with it. The accusations nevertheless left her unable to speak. Cullen continued his hate speech though.

"Now, you'll come with me to my office and you will answer some questions. If I don't find anything suspicious I will let you walk away as a free woman. Tell your friends to back off because if they even pretend to attack me or my men, I swear to the Maker I will kill them…" He backed away from her so she could speak to the others.

"Alright!" Innora muttered through her teeth and then turned to Varric whom Sebastian was holding from unleashing Bianca's fury towards Cullen.

"Varric relax!" Innora said with a trembled voice. "Everything's under control!" she continued though Varric knew she was lying. "I will follow Knight-captain Cullen to his office and he will ask me some questions. Then I will be free to go!"

"You bloody templar! You can't accuse her of anything. She was with me all night!"

"VARRIC!" Innora yelled… "You're only making it worse! I'll meet you at the Hanged Man when I'm done with all this! Please make sure Anders is alright!"

And these were her last words before she vanished in the night following Knight-captain Cullen on his way to his office!


	5. Chapter 5: Discoveries

**CHAPTER 5: DISCOVERIES**

Innora was feeling cold in Cullen's office. It was a freezing night indeed, but the fact that there was nothing to keep them warm was the reason why Innora's teeth were chattering. Times like these made her miss good old air conditioning!

A desk, two chairs and a bookcase were the only furniture inside the knight-captain's office and an enormous pack of papers was placed upon his desk. "Hmm who would have thought that templars would have to deal with so much paperwork?" Innora wondered, "I guess something has to stop them from harassing all the mages…the majority is enough!"

She was silently sitting on one of the two chairs, watching the crazed, lunatic, furious templar as he was pacing up and down just in front of his desk.

-"You're doing that for ten minutes you know…" Innora's calm voice echoed in the room. "Is this why you brought me here? To watch you walk up and down like a mad man?" her expression remained calm as Cullen suddenly stopped to give her an enraged look!

-"I knew you were trouble! I just knew it! From the first time I laid my eyes on you!" He seemed angry at himself and her, both!

-"I think it is time you explain yourself young lady! And I won't ask you this nicely the second time…" said Cullen while trying to tranquilize his inner battle between feelings of rage and self-control.

-"Explain what exactly?" Innora snapped back at him.

-"Explain the reason why twenty innocent men had to die tonight…!" Cullen shouted.

-"I didn't kill them, if that's what you mean." Innora's voice was still calm "In fact, I had nothing to do with their deaths! I was probably at the Hanged Man when the killings occurred. You could ask around if you wish…"

-"Oh, tell me something I don't know! I never said you killed them for Maker's sake!" Cullen said in an irritated tone. "Only that you were the reason they're now dead… And you are!"

Innora was beginning to think that if the knight-captain lived in London, he would definitely use a shrink! She couldn't take anymore of his stupid gibberish!

-"Listen carefully templar boy…" Cullen stared at her dumbfounded like he couldn't believe the words coming out of her mouth, "I am not like these little mage girls, you like to intimidate with that armor of yours, nor am I as stupid as your prejudices lead you to believe! I've had nothing to do with the killings and you better put that to this tiny brain of yours!"

Cullen's mouth was wide open now… Feelings of satisfaction and pure superiority took over her as she began speaking again!

-"Oh… and usually, normal people make accusations only when they have proofs, you bastard!" Even Innora couldn't believe herself for cursing the man, but her anger could meet no bounds at the particular moment.

Cullen didn't respond. He just reached for his desk's drawer and opened it, grabbed something from within and then closed it again.

-"Here are your proofs!" He tossed whatever he was holding to her.

Innora examined it closely. What a strange little object it was. It looked like a small bag or even a purse but it didn't seem to be Kirkwall's type. Wait a minute… she'd seen this before… It was the bag she was holding the night she disappeared!

-"Where did you find this? I thought I had lost it." She gave Cullen an inquiring look.

-"I didn't find it! Jared, one of the templars who died tonight, did! He brought it to me earlier this morning and I guessed it belonged to you right away. You're the newest crazy thing in town! I ordered him to keep this to himself but I was too late. On his way to me, he already told some people about this peculiar thing he discovered and even showed it around! By noon, Kirkwall's latest gossip was about Maker's signs appearing at the Gallows courtyard..."

He paused for a little bit to examine the girl's expression and then continued.

-"So let me clarify some things for you serah" the sarcasm was obvious "I don't give two shits about who you are, where you come from or whatever it is you've done! The only information I need to know is who killed my men and why! Someone is looking for you and you'll help me find him even if it is the last thing you'll do!"

It was obvious from the tone of his voice that he wasn't threatening her… Oh no… That definitely wasn't a threat! It was an order! He wasn't aware though that she didn't take orders from anyone!

-"Knight-captain Cullen!" Innora turned dead serious and cleared her throat before continuing. "Do you have any actual proof that tonight's massacre and the discovery of my purse are connected in any way?" she paused and waited for his answer.

-"Err… No, but…"

-"Do you have any actual proof that the men who murdered your templars were indeed looking for me?"

-"Well, no but I am …"

-"Finally: can you tell me with certainty that the news about my purse is the reason which triggered this tragedy?

-"No, I can't!"

-"Then I guess I'm free to go…" Innora restrained herself from smirking. She did not want to provoke the already upset man.

-"Yes, you are free to go!" Cullen bitterly admitted defeat. "But I'll be watching you closely…"

-"Whatever!" Innora muttered and then walked out of the cold room, taking her purse with her…

* * *

><p>By the time she reached the Hanged Man, the sun had just risen and his rays had already begun to shed a dim light all around Kirkwall! She entered the tavern only to find it empty and Varric was nowhere around. She headed for his room at the tavern's back. Voices could be heard as she was getting close. She stopped outside the dwarf's door to listen carefully. People were talking in a rather high tone and she could see a blue light glowing inside the room. She recognized them: it was definitely Varric, Sebastian, Isabela and someone else's hoarse voice she had never heard before.<p>

-"Keep him down, will you Choir boy?" Varric yelled through his clenched teeth.

-"I'm trying Varric… he's too strong!"

-"LET ME GOOOO!" the hoarse voice's shout reminded Innora of a lion's roar.

-"What if we just let him go?" Isabela asked in an irritated tone…. "He's not fun this way and I'm already bored!"

-"For Maker's sake Isabela he'll destroy Kirkwall if we let him loose now!" Sebastian protested.

-"THEY WILL FEEL MY WRAAAAAATH!" the man roared again.

-"And if we keep him here a minute longer, he'll flay us alive."

-"We- must- aaghh- notify- Hawke about this!"Varric said exhausted. "We can't keep - doing this!"

Innora had two choices: Leave and come back later when their friends would have dealt with the insane man inside or walk into the room and help them instead. She was never one to abandon people in need of assistance so she slowly opened the door. The room was illuminated by this faint blue glow and the three people were standing around Varric's bed, trying to keep the lunatic man down. He was giving them quite the fight! Isabela was practically sitting on the man so his face was hidden from Innora but she could still see his body. He wore a robe but some sorts of cracks were visible on his bare skin. From them, this strange blue glow was pouring out. Her friends hadn't noticed her presence yet.

-"Is everything alright?" she asked in a low voice.

The blue light, suddenly, vanished and Varric jumped at the sound of her voice.

-"Snips… you alright?" he said startled. "You've been here for long?" he looked worried.

-"I'm fine… Cullen likes to bark but doesn't know how to bite just yet!" she smirked. "And no, I just came in!" she lied… "Please Varric tell me I didn't just walk into an orgy…"!

-"Maker, NO!" Sebastian cried and Isabela let a low chuckle slip from her mouth.

Innora's attention was drawn to the man on the bed especially when he tried to get up but didn't succeed. Varric rushed to the man's side to aid him and so did Isabela. Slowly they managed to get him on his feet. She could finally see his face. Innora could feel her jaw drop and her eyes bulge right out. The insane man was Anders!

But the voice she had heard was so different that the mage's… And what about that blue glow in the room? She was confused and scared in the same time but she decided to pretend she knew nothing just for the sake of her dear friend.

Anders looked like someone had sucked his life out of him. He was pale and so weak, he couldn't retain his balance therefore he sat down. His worried eyes searched for hers.

-"Please, tell me they didn't hurt you!" Anders's voice broke at the sound of the word "hurt".

-"No, Cullen just asked me some questions but it all belongs to the past now! What happened to you Anders? I thought the templars caught you… or worse." Innora sat next to him and tried to keep herself from bursting into tears. She couldn't bear seeing him in his current state.

Anders caught her off guard. Instead of giving her an answer, he gave her a hug with what strength he had left and rested his head on her shoulder.

-"Err…" Varric's voice broke the silence "I think I forgot something…. Umm somewhere… And…. I should go get it… "

-"Yes… and I need a drink!" Isabela chuckled…

Varric and Isabela stopped and stared at Sebastian who made no move towards the door.

-"Choir boy! Is this the grand cleric calling your name?" Varric showed him the exit with his eyes.

-"No… I think you're hearing voices again Varric!" Sebastian said in a serious tone and continued standing his ground.

-"Prince…let me buy you a drink!" Isabela's lips formed a naughty smile.

Sebastian took a step forward and whispered to them:

-"It is not wise to leave the girl alone in the room with this … this "thing". You never know when he'll lose control again and as far as I'm concerned I…"

-"Choir boy, he won't hurt her. Blondie is himself now! Now let us be off and give him the privacy he needs to explain what that thing she witnessed was." Varric grabbed Sebastian by his arm.

-"It's better if he won't mention it at all! Innora doesn't seem to have noticed anything…" Sebastian muttered.

Varric and Isabela laughed so hard as the three of them walked out of the dwarf's bedroom.

-"What seems so funny to you two?" Sebastian asked offended.

-"Oh Choir Boy!" Varric said still laughing "you still have a lot of things to learn about women…"


	6. Chapter 6: Just a bad day

**CHAPTER 6: JUST A BAD DAY**

"It's not heavy at all!" said Anders in an enthusiastic manner as he tossed Innora's iphone in the air!

"Watch it!" Innora gave him a disapproving look…

"It is so weird…! And you said you could communicate with someone in Orlais if you'd like?" Anders's eyes sparkled with excitement.

"If he had one then yes you could!"

Anders got up from Varric's bed, kneeled before Innora and took his most pleading look!

"Please, Nora, turn it on for me…"

Not his puppy eyes again! She let a sigh, slip from her mouth….

"Dear man, I told you before and I will tell you again, there's no way I can turn it on! It probably ran out of battery weeks ago. Their battery only lasts for a few days. And PLEASE, stand up! You're feeling alright suddenly?"

His expression now reminded her of a young child being separated from his most favorite toy. It was his turn to sigh now…

"I have regained my strength, yes! Can I at least keep it?" there was his puppy look again.

"Fine! It is yours!"

A wide smile spread across Anders's face, Innora didn't return it though. She was mad at him. They were in Varric's room about an hour or so and all Anders was willing to talk about was her stupid purse and her mobile phone. She wanted to know the reason why he stormed out of the Hanged Man the other night and then disappeared, scaring her to death. When asked, why he behaved like an ass to Hawke and where he went after leaving, he would change the subject with a phrase like "Someone wants to kill you Nora! We should discuss about what we are going to do".

She was also dying to know about his new glowing habit, his "manliest" voice and what happened after he left the Hanged Man, but didn't want to upset him any further. Besides she didn't know if he knew that she knew!

The sound of his voice interrupted her thoughts.

"You're having an inner conversation with yourself?" Anders asked with a smirk on his face which annoyed the hell out of Innora.

"Since I can't have a decent one with you…" she snapped back at him.

"And I was starting to believe you Landon's girls had nothing to do with the ones here…" Now that was evil, Innora thought.

"London…"

"W-h-a-t-e-v-e-r!" he said slowly just to make sure she would hear the sweet sound of her favorite word coming out of his own lips.

He was actually enjoying himself. Innora was furious, seeing him messing with her like that, and the fact that he was aware she was angry bothered her even more.

"I think I'm going to return to my clinic! Care to join me? Or are you just going to remain here playing mad at me?" Anders smirked again.

Plain silence was his answer.

"Very well then…! See you when you start being a grown up again!"

"What are you Anders?" Innora finally asked what she really wanted to know.

Anders slowly turned and his gaze met hers. Innora regretted the words coming out of her mouth, the moment she heard them. He sat on the bed again.

"I thought you would let it drop!" he sighed.

"I am so sorry… my bitterness and curiosity got the best of me! You don't have to answer me, I mean, well … Consider it dropped!"

A feeling of nostalgia ovwewhelmed her for a brief moment. "Consider it dropped". Don loved saying these three words. Would she ever see him again? she wondered before Anders interrupted her thoughts one more.

"No, I will tell you. Everybody knows so it's only fair you know too. You're one of us now!" he kindly smiled at her.

She looked him directly in the eyes. This was going to be one hell of a story, of that there was no doubt.

* * *

><p>When Anders finished telling her what basically was the story of his life, he remained silent and decided to wait for her reaction. He believed she was dealing with all this better than she did the last time. Well she hadn't fainted yet, only had this dumb expression on her face. Anders had come to the conclusion that every time her mind processed life-altering information; she couldn't help but look dumb. He chuckled, remembering her reaction to magic.<p>

Innora finally managed to mutter a few words.

"So let me get this straight!"

Anders glanced at her.

"You are two dudes, not one!"

"Dudes?" he chuckled again "Should I be offended or what?"

"You are two men, right?"

"No I am me plus a spirit!"

"So, two?"

"Merged in one!"

"But one plus one gives us two!"

"You're skilled with numbers I see…"

"Please Anders; help me with this will you?" Innora cried.

"I agreed to be Justice's host but my anger changed my friend and turned him to a Vengeance spirit. I and the spirit are now one! No one will ever know where I stop and he begins. His thoughts are my own and my thoughts are his!"

"Riiiiight! But why is he able to assume control when you are angry and stuff? And why are you able to have a conversation with him if you're not two different people, spirits? Ughhh whatever…"

"Ask him next time he'll come out!" he paused for a second "which gets me thinking, he's been very quiet lately! I haven't felt his presence for a while now…"

"Yeah, like 3 hours ago?"

"Before that, silly! Strange indeed…"

"What is he saying now?" Innora asked.

"Nothing! I can't feel his presence…"

"He doesn't like me then?" Innora burst out laughing! For some reason the thought seemed so funny.

Anders stared at her.

"So you're not scared of me?"

"Hell, no!"

"But you should! I am dangerous Nora! If Varric and Isabela hadn't…"

"And Sebastian…" she grinned, emphasizing on the chantry boy's name.

"And him" Anders continued "If these three hadn't hold me today, I would be dead either before reaching the Gallows or after killing that bloody templar for questioning you. When I heard Cullen threatened you, I lost it! That's what triggered Justice's taking over. The templars would have had my head on a spike in no time. They fear possessed mages! That's why they lock us in the circles in the first place." Anders avoided using the word abominations.

"I could never be afraid of you Anders!" Innora averted her eyes from his. She could feel her cheeks turning red as she did. "You could never hurt me!" she whispered.

"You're right! I wouldn't hurt you, I'd kill you! Because that is what happens when Justice is in control…" his words were filled with pain.

"No, you wouldn't!" Innora protested "You're not that kind of man…"

"Why you trust me this much Nora?" he snapped at her "Why put so much faith in me? You don't even know me! You haven't seen the things I'm capable of yet…" Anders was suddenly yelling at her without having realized it.

"BECAUSE, I THINK I'M FALLING FOR YOU!" she yelled back…

There! She finally said it… Now she could crawl behind a bush and just die!

Anders, on the other hand, might as well have been already dead. He wasn't able to move, he wasn't able to speak, and only his occasional breathing indicated that he was actually alive.

"Please! Don't go there…" he finally said in a trembled voice and shut his eyes.

"But I already did! Look, I am aware we haven't known each other for a long time but one can't help these things. They tend to happen and if you just let me…"

"Innora just stop…"

"But if you just let me tell you…"

"STOP!" he screamed in his loudest voice.

Innora stared at him with shock in her eyes. Anders sighed and then whispered in a low tone:

"I am in love with Hawke!"

"What?" Innora could feel her heart shattering into pieces.

"I am in love with Hawke!" he repeated. "Look, I truly care for you Innora!" he paused in order to choose his words carefully "and if it wasn't for Hawke we would definitely have something strong but as you said, no one can help these things! And I've been aching for Cornelia for years…"

Innora held back her tears. She wouldn't! Not in front of him at least.

"You wanted to know about my behavior the other night…" man was he doing it on purpose now? "Why I acted the way I did!" he continued…. "The reason why is because Cornelia and that elf, Fenris, are quite taken with each other and I guess… well I guess I was jealous…!" He searched for her eyes, hoping he didn't hurt her as bad as he thought he did. He was wrong! He had hurt her even more…

"It's alright…"she lied "I'm going out to breathe some fresh air…"

"Nora, please, let us talk about th…."

"Bye, Anders…" she murmured and then quickly reached for the door…

* * *

><p>For the rest of the day, Innora wandered aimlessly around Kirkwall's streets, trying to wash the pain and shame away! The night found her at the Docks. She hadn't noticed how she ended up there but she couldn't care less. She had bigger problems. How could she have acted like a little girl and tell Anders she had feelings for him. He was right! She barely knew him. As for Hawke, it was only natural he would fell for her! Her beauty was divine, her attitude was seductive and deadly and she didn't have shit for brains! How could anyone not be in love with her?<p>

"I am such a moron!" she loudly cried to herself, lowering even more her self esteem.

"Oh quit your whining, bitch!" she heard a man shouting behind her.

She turned around only to see two men dangerously approaching her. Judging from their appearance they had to be pirates… or coterie thugs… or both…

"What do we have here?"

"Is it a dwarf?" the two men burst out laughing.

"What happened? Your mama was too ugly for a human?" they laughed harder now.

"Oh good one Pete!" the one who seemed dumbest said still laughing

"This wench needs to be taught a lesson! What do you think Al?"

"She will never whine again, Pete…" The two disgusting men started laughing again as they unsheathed their swords and daggers…

She didn't wait for their next move. She started to run but they began chasing her… She could listen to the heavy "clank" sounds their boots made and she knew they kept getting close. She doubled her effort and pushed herself to its limits but still the sound of their boots hitting the ground could be heard, not far behind her. I don't want to die, she thought! I don't want to die! She had no clue of where she was at the time or where she was going! She just wanted to get away.

"Why you run, sweetheart?"

"Don't you want to play with us?"

The bastards wouldn't just give up though… She entered an alley to her left, in order to disorientate them. They followed her, of course. She could swear her heart was beating so fast it was about to explode while she was trying hard to suppress the panic which was forming inside her. She had to be able to think straight if she was to survive. Unfortunately for her, she reached a dead end. She turned around, with horror in her eyes, only to see the two men grinning in front of her.

"No more running for you bitch!" the thug named Al said.

Innora unsheathed the dagger Isabela had given her for protection. She could stab someone, if given the chance, but she was definitely not ready for being engaged in a real fight. "Fuck…" she thought "I'm gonna die tonight!"

The thugs didn't give her more time to duel upon her upcoming fate. They rushed forward in an attempt to slice her into pieces. Her small size allowed her to dodge the worst of it but Al's dagger managed to scratch her arm.

"Hey! Stay away from the lady!" someone yelled. The thugs stopped attacking her and turned to look.

It was a patrol of the city guard. A feeling of hope overwhelmed Innora.

The thugs turned to face the guards now, but they didn't stand a chance. Innora watched with insensitivity as the guards pierced their swords through Pete's heart, and chopped Al's head off. She had seen a lot of dead people in the med school but never had she witnessed a killing before. She just couldn't bring herself to care about these two though!

"Serah, are you hurt?" one of the guard's men asked her.

"It's just a scratch! I will survive!"

"Come, serah! We will accompany you home!"

"To the Hanged Man then!"

* * *

><p>Innora thanked the guardsmen for saving her life and accompanying her to the Hanged Man, and then she entered the tavern. "What a day!" she sighed.<p>

The Hanged man was busy as hell! She spotted Fenris's white hair and headed his way. Now that her fear was gone, her arm was hurting in an unbearable way… "I'll have to clean the wound at some point before it gets infected!" In order to do that though, she had to visit Ander's clinic and she wasn't in the mood for seeing the mage so soon! But her luck today had its sense of humor. It wasn't only Fenris sitting at the table…

Every single person she had met since she set foot in Kirkwall was there (apart from Cullen of course).

"Ooooh! There she is!" Merrill cried in her delicate voice.

"Thank the Maker!" Sebastian said relieved.

"Curse you Snips!" Varric shouted in a worried tone "We were looking for you since you left this morning. We searched everywhere. Where the hell were you?"

"We were just about to search for you again…" Merrill smiled at her. That elf gave her the creeps for some reason.

"Well, I am truly sorry. I just went for a stroll and lost track of time!"

"Just for a stroll? Then why, the fuck, are you bleeding Nora?" Innora could recognize anywhere Anders's voice. He sounded devastated.

"Oh that… I ran into trouble! Two thugs! But Aveline's guards were there in time!"

Anders froze and so did the others!

"Damn it Innora!" Hawke muttered "You could have been killed!"

"Oh really? I thought I was only in for the occasional raping or torturing! Thanks for clarifying Hawke!"

"Maker, let me see that!" Anders rushed to her side and took her arm in his hands!

"It's nothing serious!"

"I will be the judge of that!" Anders scolded her as he examined the cut closely. "I have to clean it and then heal it!"

"There is no fucking way I'm allowing you playing Harry Potter with me Anders". Innora pulled her arm away from his hands.

"Excuse me?" he asked offended.

"Look I didn't let you examine me with your magic the first day I met you and I still stand by that decision."

"Someone would think you'd be familiar with the idea of magic by now!" Anders snapped at her.

"I am familiar with the idea! I am even familiar with the sight of it! Just don't use it on me and we're alright!" Innora stepped away from the worried mage.

"That girl has some sense into her!" Fenris commented.

"Nora you know as well as I do that it is dangerous not to heal the wound!" Anders continued his attempt to persuade the girl, ignoring Fenris.

"We'll clean it!" she protested.

"Snips it isn't that complicated! You will follow Blondie to his clinic to be healed and then return here to drink some ale or otherwise I and Choir boy over there will drag your ass in Darktown." Sebastian gave Varric a surprised look.

"Can this day get any worse?" she wondered.

* * *

><p>Anders opened the door to his clinic and they entered inside. On their way there, they hadn't exchanged a word!<p>

She stood still as Anders began cleaning her wound!

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAGH! FUCK! IT HURTS" she screamed

"I know, sorry…" he said without even glancing at her "I'm almost done!"

"Still cleaning it?"

"No…! I finished, now I just have to heal you!"

Panic began to overwhelm her.

"Please Anders!" She begged "Don't! It's just a scratch!"

"What is it you fear exactly?" he chuckled. "Earlier this morning, I confessed to you that a spirit lives inside me and you burst out laughing but when it comes to magic you scream like a child! I don't get it!"

"It's different…! The spirit is living inside you and I'm not scared of you so I'm not scared of it I guess but…."

"That remains to be seen though!" he interrupted her.

"But when it comes to magic, I just don't want to know how it feels like…"

"But why?"

"If you really want to know then…. Because returning home would look more impossible than it looks now. The fact that I haven't yet experienced the effects of magic makes me hope it can still all be a dream."

Anders sighed heavily!

"I understand!" he finally said "But I have to heal you nonetheless!"

"Then let us be done with it! Do you mind if I close my eyes?"

"Not at all!" he chuckled.

Innora shut her eyes as tight as she could and waited for it to happen though she was still aware of Ander's hands creating that strange blue light he called healing.

"What in the Maker?" Anders muttered through his clenched teeth.

"What?" Innora opened her eyes and stared at her wound. It was still there. "Is something wrong?" she asked worried as the blue light poured out from Anders's hands again. The wound however remained there.

Anders's jaw dropped… His eyes locked with hers.

"I can't heal you…" he murmured not believing himself for saying that.

"What?"

"I can't heal you…"


	7. Chapter 7: Hunted

**CHAPTER 7: HUNTED**

Innora let out a sigh! She was bored to death. For quite some time, she was trying to bring Anders back to his senses but had miserably failed. They were sitting on a bed roll, next to each other, while Anders was holding her hand in his, trying any kinds of magic. No spoken words had come out of his mouth, and Innora was sure he wasn't even thinking. The only thing he occupied himself with was setting fire to her hand, or trying to freeze it or electrocute it but luckily he was unsuccessful. For some reason whatever magic he used on her, didn't affect her at all. It was the first time Innora had seen him in real shock. Well, at least, that was why she thought he was behaving that way. The alternative; trying to burn her out of pleasure, didn't seem like such an appealing idea.

She should've been curious too about the reason why she was "untouched" by magic, but she wasn't! She had agreed with herself that nothing would surprise her anymore. Over the past 2-3 months, she had changed dimensions or whatever happened to her was, learned that magic, demons, spirits and all this pretty stuff exist, she had seen dwarves, elves, pirates and mages, fell in love with a mage who was possessed and at last almost died by the daggers of thugs. She wouldn't let unimportant things like being magic-proof, dampen her spirit. Besides she wasn't able to think straight at the particular moment. The cut on her arm gave her hell! Anders had cleaned it thoroughly, but since his magic could not heal it, she had to wait for her body's defenses to do the job the traditional way.

She groaned, not being able to bear the pain when she moved her arm. "Pffft!" she thought "I really have to learn how to fight! Isabela could teach me a thing or two! Or even Hawke!" but she quickly dismissed that last part. She didn't want to think about Hawke or spend time with her, while her heart was still bleeding from her recent rejection. She knew she was being childish, but she had to stay away from Anders and Hawke, until she got back on her feet. Even now his presence -seeing him, feeling him touching her hand- drove her mad, dreaming of things she shouldn't dream and wishing of things which could never come true. "Blasted mage", she cursed inside her mind.

Anders then, out of the blue, released her hand and tenderly raised her chin in order to meet her gaze. "Hearing my thoughts now?" Innora bitterly asked herself. She speculated that he was going to say something but he simply stared at her instead.

"You're annoying the hell out of me… you know that right?" Innora said in her most irritated tone.

"I know!" he admitted and continued whatever he was doing.

"They're brown!" she said.

"Huh?" he asked surprised.

"The color of my eyes! Isn't this why you're staring at me? Because I can't explain your behavior in any other way." He didn't reply.

Innora then turned her head around and got up! Anders remained where he was. She began walking towards the clinic's door but Anders's voice made her stop.

"A few hours ago, two men tried to kill you and almost succeeded and now you're about to wander alone in the dark again." he scolded her

"What else can I do? You don't talk, you don't move and you try to burn me all the time…. I'm bored!" the annoyed girl snapped back at him.

"Stay for dinner!"

"I don't want to stay for dinner!"

"I know some mages –apostates- who really know some stuff!" he quickly changed the subject. "They get around! I will ask them and try to find out if they happen to know anything about your situation, while being discrete of course!"

Anders got up and grabbed some potatoes and carrots from a sack.

"Magic doesn't harm you! I can't believe it… We must get to the bottom of this…" he said while he started pouring water into a pot.

"What are you doing?" Innora asked in an annoyed tone as he started a fire under the pot!

"I'm preparing dinner of course!" he smiled at her.

"Well, bon appetit!" she went for the door but before realizing it, Anders grabbed her arm and forced her to stop moving further.

"You're staying!" he declared in a serious voice.

"Why? What do you want from me Anders?" she sighed.

"I want to help you to get over with the awkward part and let us be back to normal!" he answered.

"Anders it is too soon! I think I should stay away from you for a while." She said with sadness in her eyes. She couldn't imagine her days without seeing him but she had to suck it up.

"Well, I don't!"

"Why?" she could swear he was acting like a girl on her period, never knowing what he wanted.

"Because I care for you and I enjoy your company!" he smiled again.

Innora's jaw almost fell on the ground! How could he say these things to her?

"That's not what you told me this morning!" she finally muttered.

"That's exactly what I told you this morning, you just interpreted it in your own way!"

"Oh… please enlighten me!" she said sarcastically…

"Well, I told you that I am in love with Hawke…"

"Yeah… now it all makes sense… "She used sarcasm again but he ignored her…

"… and I also told you that we could have had something strong! But we can't because I am in love with Hawke. It all means that I do find myself caring for you but my feelings for Hawke are in the way…" he paused to examine her expression.

"And you're not ashamed to say these things out loud? Damn you Anders you don't have a way with women obviously…-and please don't give me your sex conversation again- what I mean is… Fuck!" she cursed loudly before continuing…

"What I mean is that what's even worse than telling a girl who likes you, you are in love with someone else, is telling her you care for her and like her too but you're in love with someone else…"

Anders wanted to say something but she didn't give him the chance.

"Look, how things will work from now on…" she locked eyes with him. "We won't talk about this subject ever again! I will act like it never happened and so will you. I won't try staying away from you because I am sure you will bother the hell out of me so therefore we will hang out. Plus, you won't say anything about what happened tonight to anyone, apart from Varric of course, and I would welcome your help in finding information about what the fuck is wrong with me… Deal?" she asked in a strict tone.

"Yes, madam!" he chuckled, "So, you will stay for dinner…"

"Yes but please… next time you cook… think meat!" she chuckled back. It was impossible to be mad at him… This mage would be the end of her, she just knew it!

* * *

><p>The next day Innora went to visit Varric in order to tell him the story of her life. She decided it was about time he knew and besides she was under this strange impression he was already aware of her little secret. He often liked to say things like "You belong to another world Snips!", and "Are you even from this world or did you fall from the sky?" accompanied with an evil-like grin and what seemed to be a psychological analysis of her reactions.<p>

Varric wasn't at the Hanged Man though. When asked, Isabela explained that he was off along with Hawke, Fenris and Sebastian to help Fenris with a "business" of his. Innora remembered the night Hawke asked Varric to aid her and Fenris, with something that had to do with a slaver's den and a woman named Hadrianna. She would talk to him when he'd come back, but until then she had plenty amount of free time, since Anders had to visit his mage friends and the clinic wouldn't operate that day!

Since she had nothing better to do, it seemed like a good idea at the time to practice her 'rogue' skills with Isabela. She'd forgotten about her little cut though. Isabela was more than happy to assist her with her training and therefore the two women got down to business.

By the end of the day, Innora had come to believe that her initial idea seemed better in her mind than it actually was. She was exhausted, hungry, in pain and in immediate need of a bath. The cut gave her hell during their practice but she kept practicing nonetheless. She wanted to learn to endure physical pain; something that could prove useful later on. Besides, she couldn't let Isabela find out that Anders wasn't able to heal her last night.

She was satisfied with herself. Isabela complimented her on her extremely good skills with the daggers, considering she was a beginner, and told her she had a bright future of killing enemies unnoticed, ahead of her. Innora was unexpectedly happy about her performance. She was never one to take pleasure in the act of killing, but maybe Kirkwall was changing her in ways she couldn't fully grasp.

When the first stars appeared in the night's sky, Isabela and she returned to the Hanged Man. Innora took a long bath and then she and the pirate began drinking together.

"So…" Isabela smiled in a naughty way "Rumor has it; your home is far, far, far away…"

"And it is…" Innora replied without being sure what Isabela wanted to know. You could never guess with that pirate.

"And your way of life must be very different than ours…" Isabela started tracing playfully with her finger the cracks on their table.

"Different doesn't even begin to describe it!" Innora sighed at the remembrance of her home. She had missed her family so much! And the internet of course…

"And other certain ways must be different, too" Isabela giggled.

"Oh… you cannot imagine!" Innora gave Isabela a mischievous look. She understood now, what kind of information the pirate was interested in…

"In fact…" Innora grinned, "…we have even written books about these 'certain' ways", she raised an eyebrow, "Details, included!"

A wide wicked smile spread across Isabela's face and she was about to say something when Sebastian stormed in the Hanged Man. Isabela raised her hand and he practically ran to where the girls were sitting. He looked extremely troubled.

"What's wrong Mr. No fun at all?" Isabela giggled.

Sebastian completely ignored Isabela and turned to Innora. His stare made her feel awkward.

"Hey chantry boy!" Innora greeted him.

"Innora you have to come with me!"

"Last time I heard this, I ended up being pressed against a wall by a templar!"

"Ooooh! Tell me more… I love men in armor!" Isabela chuckled.

"Bella… everyone here wears armor, you know…" Innora commented.

"Exactly my point!"

Innora took a quick glance at Sebastian's cheeks blushing before he decided to speak again.

"Innora, I beg you! It is of high importance…"

"Will you at least tell me what this is about?"

"On our way there, I will…!"

"Fine… but promise me something Sebastian!" Innora spoke in a very strict voice.

"Speak your mind!" he said…

"No Maker talk!"

* * *

><p>Innora had been following Sebastian for, at least, one and a half hour. She was exhausted mainly due to the training with Isabela but this night's walking had finished her off. She had also begun worrying because they were outside of Kirkwall and were heading to that slaver's den to meet up with the others. She had never been outside of Kirkwall before. Who knew what creatures lurked in the dark?<p>

Fortunately, Sebastian was the talking type and she secretly admitted that she hadn't thought he had it in him. On their way there, he explained to her that something had occurred during their little quest which required her presence, and then they talked for any kind of silly, unimportant stuff. "What the hell could require my presence?" Innora had wondered.

After a great amount of time walking in the dark, they finally reached their destination. Innora's eyed bulged out in the sight in front of her. Numerous bloody corpses were lying on the ground. Some had their heads but others didn't. In the end it didn't matter; dead is dead. She gave Sebastian an inquiry look.

"I am so sorry I'm putting you through this. Close your eyes if you like. I'll guide you to them!" Sebastian offered her his hand.

"Don't worry about me Seb! I've seen worse…" she lied, of course, because nothing in the med school had prepared her for that. Luckily, she wasn't the vomiting type.

She witnessed a feeling of disappointment passing by Sebastian's eyes, but maybe she was imagining things as always.

"Where are they?" Innora asked.

"Inside!" Sebastian showed her a cave with his finger.

"Oh… wonderful!"

* * *

><p>A lesson learned that day for Innora was never to enter a cave again. She just couldn't stand the corridors and that red faint glow they used in order to illuminate the cave. She hated corridors for some unexplained reason. Moreover, seeing dead people all the time had become kind of boring. She needed a change of scenery.<p>

"Are we there yet?" Innora asked Sebastian in a very annoying tone. It was still a wonder that he hadn't started shooting arrows at her.

"You asked me 10 seconds ago! It's that door at the end of this corridor."

"I know! I just love teasing you…" she giggled as Sebastian gave her a disapproving look.

The two of them reached the door and then Sebastian opened it waiting for her to enter first. 'He's either a true gentleman or there's a monster in the room and wants me eaten first' she thought. A moment later, she realized he was a true gentleman after all!

Fenris, Hawke and Varric were inside the room and a lot of dead people, ashes and other pleasant stuff around them. There was also this woman lying on the floor, alive but severely wounded. Fenris was pressing her face with his foot.

"Having a party without me?" Innora cheerfully asked. Why was she cheerful though? Maybe she was crazy indeed.

"Snips, this is no time for jokes" Varric said seriously. Varric? Seriously? Something bad was going on.

Fenris then grabbed the mysterious woman by her hair and turned her face in an angle which allowed her to get a look at Innora.

"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaagh!" the woman screamed.

"Save your cries for later Hadrianna! I have just begun!" Fenris's voice was full of hate. He gave Innora the impression he was about to rip the woman apart. She had never seen him like this. He was always broody and bitter but this time he was playing in a whole new level. She couldn't imagine what Hawke was seeing in him though.

"Is this she?" Fenris asked Hadrianna as he shook violently her head.

"Aaaaaaaaaagh! Please stop! I—I don't know. I have to - to – check!"

"NO!" Hawke yelled.

"It is the only way Hawke!" Fenris protested and then turned to Hadrianna again.

"If you hurt her in any way you Tevinter bitch… I'm going to torture you for days until you start begging me to end your pathetic life! Understood?" Fenris's green eyes looked like they were on fire.

"Al-Alright!" the woman tried to catch her breath as Fenris released her and stepped back.

"Give me your hand girl! I will need your bare skin." Hadrianna muttered.

All this seemed awfully familiar to Innora! 'No! It can't be.' She slowly approached the woman and placed her hand into hers. She could swear she saw Hadrianna's lips forming a grin, before bolts of lightning poured out from her hands. Innora felt nothing though. The Tevinter mage froze dumbfounded, Hawke dropped one of her daggers, Sebastian muttered something like 'Maker save us all' and Varric clenched his teeth. Nobody was speaking or moving. Everyone was staring at Innora. She certainly knew how to draw attention to herself even without wanting to.

Then suddenly Hadrianna grabbed Hawke's dagger from the ground and loudly cried "DIE!" as she stormed towards Innora in an attempt to kill her. She wasn't as fast as Fenris though. The elf caught her from her mage's robes and stopped her. Innora thought he would chop her into pieces with his greatsword but this wasn't the case. He raised his fist in a way which looked like he was going to punch her in the back, but instead his fist entered her body. Fenris's fist glowed blue as he ripped out the woman's heart, leaving her lifeless.

Innora felt like she was going to faint again but luckily she managed to get a grip of herself. Hawke didn't remain as calm though!

"You gave her your word, Fenris! You lied" she shouted at him.

"And she told me I have a sister! She lied!" the elf answered her in the same tone.

"She wasn't lying about Innora!"

"She wasn't the one who told us about Innora in the first place! Oh, fuck you Hawke, I'm out of here!"

And with these last words, Fenris left them. Hawke was on the verge of crying and everyone could see that. Innora hated to sound selfish but she had to satisfy her curiosity.

"Will someone tell me what is going on?"

"Why don't you tell us instead?" Hawke snapped back at her.

"You mean the magic thing?"

"Yes, I mean the magic thing!"

"Well, how would I know? For some reason magic can't harm me. I just found out yesterday when Anders wasn't able to heal me." Everyone remained silent for a while and then Varric spoke.

"Snips, Hadrianna wasn't here only for Fenris. She was looking for you. Tevinters want you dead apparently." Varric was dead serious.

"How do you know?"

"We found this slave girl before reaching Hadrianna. She told us they were here searching for two people. She had overheard them talking about someone who changed dimension and it was the last remaining on their list and that kind of stuff… we speculated they were referring to you. Then we confronted Hadrianna herself and she verified the girl's words. She didn't give us much though. She told us it was none of our business… but we were sure she meant you…"

"Why?"

"Because Snips…" Varric laughed, "…Who else knows songs like the ones you know and says 'whatever' every two words? And even your appearance is different from ours! If you were not skin and bones I'd call you a tall dwarf!" he paused to study the dump expression on Innora's face.

"We might come from different worlds but we Theda's men are not stupid. Well at least most of us…"

"You knew all along!" Innora 'kindly' accused Varric.

"Snips…"he smirked "if I didn't know all along, I'd be out of business. Let us be off now! I'm sure ale would help us right now."

"I'm going back to my mansion!" Hawke said in a sad tone. "See you guys later… oh and Innora we have to talk about your situation."

"What about you Choir boy? Will you be coming?" Varric turned to Sebastian who hadn't spoken in a while.

Sebastian looked at Innora and she smiled at him. His cheeks turned red again!

"I will come, yes!" he answered with a calm voice, as always.

Innora then whispered to Varric, giggling:

"Is it going to be about wild sex events or simply defying the Maker?"

" What about wild sex events while defying the Maker?" Varric almost burst out laughing.

"Oh good one!" Innora and Varric exchanged mischievous looks and grinned in a sinful way.

"What?" Sebastian asked curious…

"Oh nothing Seb… I just remembered something. You know one night, when I was back home, I found myself outside of a church – something like your chantry- and the most peculiar thing happened. There was this guy….." and Innora continued her story as the three of them started heading for Kirkwall.


	8. Chapter8:What the hell is wrong with me?

**CHAPTER 8: WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH ME?**

Innora, Varric and Sebastian had a swell time at the Hanged Man. They drank (apart from the choir boy of course), laughed, shared stories and started a deep religious conversation which ended up with Sebastian feeling awkward. Innora also talked about her previous lifestyle as the two men kept bugging her to do so. Man, did she have fun! Anders was nowhere to be seen but Innora was so drunk by the end of the night, she couldn't care less. Sebastian had to walk her to her room, since her sense of balance was absent at the particular moment, and he was even kind enough as to tuck her into bed. He even carried Varric (well more dragged) to his room too!

Next morning –scratch that- noon, when Innora finally decided to wake up, she headed for Anders's clinic. The mage must have had something to make her headache go away and there was also this tiny little fact of wanting to get her daily dose of him. Addictions; never a good thing! 'I hope he's actually there' she wished. Anders often liked to disappear doing some 'stuff' here and there and when asked he'd reply "Knowing would put you in grave danger". He'd better have stayed in his clinic this day though, for his own good… Innora plus a headache was a killer combination.

She reached the clinic only to find its doors shut. "No freaking way…" she muttered through her clenched teeth. "I am so going to murder the guy…" She had to admit, the thought passed through her mind for one moment but maybe the headache was getting the best of her. The pain was unbearable. 'Next time I'll drink this much, I'll better drink till death. At least I'll be spared the hangover…" she promised herself, though they both knew deep down (she and herself that is) that she loved drinking too much and was afraid of dying no less.

As she turned around to leave, she heard the familiar "crack" sound of the clinic's door as it was about to open. Her hand immediately reached for her dagger.

Anders walked out of the clinic, whistling and humming a melody which Innora thought she have heard before. He was in a surprisingly cheerful mood. He froze at the sight of her holding her dagger.

"What the hell Nora? What are you doing with that dagger of yours?" he asked her, startled.

"Um.. Hah…" she laughed nervously "I was just….you know… killing … heh … flies… ! For the sake of practice of course… "What a dump thing to say! But it was far better than the actual truth; her conspiracy theories about some John Doe who had just murdered Anders in the middle of the day and then was just about to exit his clinic…

"Killing flies…?" Anders raised an eyebrow, trying to give meaning to her blabbering.

"Just learning how to be a Ninja, don't pay attention…" she quickly said before changing the subject "I have this terrible headache. Please tell me you can help me!"

"I guess learning how to be a Ninja must be tough as hell" he grinned in a devilish way.

"Dear man, you're about to meet my brain because it's about to pop off of my head so… do you have something for the pain?"

"Come in…" Anders opened his clinic's door again and Innora entered.

"Too much ale?" She nodded… He tssked her. "You'll end up a drunk, Nora…"

"Yeah, whatever! Hurry up…!" she groaned.

Anders was mixing some stuff into a vial. He prepared whatever he was preparing incredibly fast but Innora was under the impression it took him ages!

"Anders, I'm dying here. Remember brain- meeting!"

"Oh quit your whining! There… knock yourself out!" he sniffed as he handed her the vial.

Innora drank it to the last drop. It tasted like shit but she couldn't be picky. Medicines don't tend to be mouthwatering so she simply endured.

"In half an hour you'll be able to continue your Ninja thing!" Anders stated.

"Where were you going?" Innora suddenly asked.

"I have some 'stuff' to attend to! And then I'll visit Hawke! I need to apologize for being such an ass!" He stared down hoping to avoid the awkward moment when the name 'Hawke' echoed in the room.

"You better do that!" Innora agreed "You were being an ass and Hawke is going to get killed one of these days without her healer by her side…" She gave him a heartwarming look and he smiled in return.

"Will you be able to stay at the clinic? In case someone shows up… You know the basics, you can aid them… at least until I return." Puppy eyes again.

"Well, alright! But stop that!" she looked at him in a very threatening way.

"But why? It sure is effective and I love when you're pretending to be mad at me…" he giggled.

'Pretending? Hah… He'd wish…' and thus started Innora's inner monologue as she was left alone in the clinic killing her flies and curing people…

* * *

><p>'Oh I am so going to kill him…' Innora stated silently. Since Anders had left the clinic, people started coming in an unbelievably fast pace. Some were sick, others were wounded and all the rest were fine but needed the occasional reassurance. Innora was on the verge of losing her mind, as time kept passing by, and Anders apparently had no intention of returning anytime soon.<p>

The sun had already set and the mysterious veil of the night was now covering Kirkwall. The clinic was crowded with people and Innora just didn't have enough hands to treat them all in time.

"Heyyy... I'm waiting for twenty minutes here!" A man shouted. "I'm burning up with fever!"

"And my arm can't stop bleeding". A woman agreed with the previous man in a complaining manner.

"Everyone has his turn…" Innora cried "Be patient…"

"Be patient? Where is the healer? We want the healer!" the man shouted again.

'I won't be able to do this for much longer!' Innora thought to herself. Her exhaustion was beyond words and she was trying her best but the fact that she wasn't a mage was the major problem. She just couldn't be as fast as Anders. Magic had its advantages for sure…

While she was bandaging up a little boy's leg, she heard the "crack" of the door again.

Sweet relief overwhelmed her; at last, her nightmare would be over in a few seconds.

"Anders, you have no idea…" Innora started muttering but stopped feeling surprised and somewhat disappointed.

The man at the door wasn't Anders. She looked at him again just to make sure she wasn't dreaming or something. 'Did I bump my head somewhere?' she wondered. 'What is HE doing here?' Curiosity took over her but the man interrupted her puzzled thinking.

"I heard there was a new healer in town and I just figured she'd welcome some assistance". Sebastian was standing in front of her, kindly smiling.

He wasn't in his shiny armor though. He wore leather leggings, old boots and a torso made of what seemed to be cheap fabric. For once, he didn't seem very royal, considering his prince status and all. Innora didn't know what to make of this man. Was he really there to help her?

"You know anything about bandages?" she asked him, mouth wide open, as he took the little boy's leg to his hands and began bandaging it up instead.

"Of course I do!" he chuckled, "Move on to the next one. Let's finish here and, if you're not too tired, go grab some drinks later on…" his cheeks flushed again. Innora never had met someone who would go bright red from pale white in just one second and quite so often.

"I always say yes to drinks!" she finally said, "But you don't drink that much!"

"You drink enough for us both!" he burst out laughing.

Innora placed her hands on her waist and glanced at him, her look playful and her grin sinful. Who would have thought? The chantry boy could indeed pull out a joke. People never cease to amaze you…

* * *

><p>"….and the doctors managed to save the priest's life. Heart attacks can be nasty!" Innora finished her story, barely restraining herself from bursting out laughing. She glanced at Varric who was covering his mouth with his hands, trying to control his urge for laughing too, but low chuckles were able to slip through his defense.<p>

Sebastian had this wide grin across his face as he lay back in the chair, silently staring at his two friends. Innora wanted to see a disgusted expression or even some sort of scolding but Sebastian simply sat there, unbothered, like he hadn't heard a thing from her outrageous story and its explicit details. Varric and Innora exchanged disappointed looks. This wasn't fun!

"No 'dear Maker' for us this time, choir boy?" Varric asked, somewhat put off.

"Oh, No!" Sebastian's wicked smile grew even wider.

"Clinic's work got the best of you then?" it was Innora's turn to ask now.

"Not at all!" Sebastian answered in the same tone as before. "I just decided to stop being shocked and start being amused by these little fairytales of yours Innora." Sebastian looked at her, eyes full of meaning.

"Fairytales huh?"

"Yes, fairytales…" the chantry boy nodded.

"And what makes you think they are lies indeed?" Varric asked cheerfully.

"It's simple really! Innora is not that type of girl!" He stated in such a certain way.

"And what type is this? Innora looked the exiled prince straight in his eyes, waiting for an answer.

"Isabela's type…" he replied calmly "commonly known as whore!"

"Interesting!" Innora chuckled "You're aware though that this Maker/God idea is not very appealing to me, right?" She started playing with her hair, her fingers moving in a tempting way, but her eyes remaining locked with Sebastian's, "And you're also aware my 'virgin' days are long gone?" She leaned to Sebastian's side just to make him blush one more time. She just loved teasing the man.

"Um… yes… I am aware!" The prince answered; his cheeks "but your different beliefs and sexual experiences doesn't necessarily turn you into a whore! I mean like…"

"Anders…" Varric said.

"Anders used to be a whore Varric… Have you even listened to all the conversations he occasionally has with Isabela?" Sebastian protested.

"No, choir boy… "Varric grinned "I meant Anders…" the dwarf showed them something behind their backs, "he is coming our way!"

Innora turned in order to verify Varric's words. They were true indeed. The apostate was heading for their table. She waved but he didn't seem to notice. His look reminded her of someone who had just lost his mother or wife and by analyzing his expression she could tell he was furious as well as torn. The mage sat recklessly on a chair next to Varric, almost knocking the dwarf down, and signaled the bartender, showing him a cup of ale.

'What the hell happened to him now?' Innora wondered. She had never seen him in such a serious, angry mood apart maybe from that time when Justice-lad assumed control and the night he quarreled with Hawke. But the way he looked today was far worse. An idea, which involved her asking him 'Anders, why so serious?' passed through her mind and made her giggle, but she quickly dismissed it because he would never get the joke and plus, with all this tense in the air, he would probably throw a bottle at her or something.

The bartender disrupted Innora's thoughts as he brought Anders the ale he asked for. Varric's jaw almost dropped on the floor and Innora took her dumbest expression as they both watched their friend drinking the ale like it was water.

"Anders you never drink!" Innora muttered, still in shock.

"Well I do now!" he sniffed at her.

"Blondie though I'd give anything to see you drunk, don't you think it's wiser to avoid it? Considering your situation?" Varric took his most diplomatic look but diplomacy wouldn't prevail this time.

Anders gave an icy stare at his friend before taking another big gulp of his ale. Varric raised his eyebrow and Innora could tell he was talking to himself (or Bianca) trying to figure out what the fuck was wrong with Anders. The mage then lowered his gaze and muttered something through his clenched teeth. Innora couldn't hear a thing but she was too afraid to ask in case he started shouting at her or something. Man, was he furious…

"Anders…" Innora finally spoke "What about Justice?" It became clear from her voice's sound how worried she was.

The mage looked at her with that same icy expression.

"He won't be a problem. His presence is not as strong as it once was… In fact I can't even feel him sometimes." Anders said dead serious. "But even if he could cause a problem I wouldn't give two shits!" he bitterly admitted.

Innora realized his voice was trembling and his hands were shaking. Was it anger, rage perhaps? She couldn't say for sure…

"I want to be alone right now!", the apostate stated.

"Then why join us in the first place?" Sebastian snapped at him. Varric gave him a warning-stare but the words had already slipped from his mouth.

Everything happened so fast. Anders rose up from his chair and rapidly leaned towards Sebastian, who was sitting on the opposite side of the table, grabbing him from the fabric torso he wore. Sebastian tried to unsheathe his dagger but terribly failed, since Anders pulled him so close that they were slightly touching each other's noses. Innora and Varric rushed to separate the two men. Anders's free hand sparkled with lightning and his breathing became heavy. Sebastian on the other hand, couldn't move and he was one step away from being ON the table. Who would have thought Anders was so strong? Innora was always under the impression that mages were weak without their magic. She stood corrected though.

"Easy Blondie…" Varric tried to soothe the man while Innora touched his free hand, the one with the lightning, and whispered to him.

"Anders, templars could be anywhere… Please!" she begged him.

The mage stopped creating lighting and released Sebastian from his grip. The prince stepped back dumbfounded by Ander's outburst and then stormed out of the Hanged Man, after hesitating for a bit. Varric looked at Innora and they both nodded. They had a way of reading each other's minds.

"I'm going to sleep!" Innora stated and headed for her room.

"Good idea Snips!" Varric agreed and withdrew to his quarters too, giving Anders the privacy he desperately wanted.

* * *

><p>Innora was pacing up and down her room, being unable to sleep. 'Poor Sebastian' she thought. The man for whom she cared for would have electrified the prince if Varric and she hadn't prevented him in time. What was he thinking? Anders shouldn't have behaved the way he did. Since she had returned to her bedroom, she was breaking her back trying to figure out what the hell could've happened to him. Her best guess until then was about some of his mages friends being turned to tranquil but Anders was the only one who could give her some answers. Asking him though was out of the question.<p>

Her attention was drawn to the sound of footsteps just outside her bedroom which was accompanied by a knocking on the door. Innora got suspicious. Everyone ought to be sleeping this late at night. Her heart suddenly started to beat faster. Was it possible the Tevinters had found her? Panic began overwhelming her and she reached for her dagger. She wouldn't go down without a fight.

"Who is it?" she asked in a trembled voice.

"It's Anders! May I come in?" Innora recognized the mage's familiar voice.

"Yes!" she said relieved. At least Tevinter mages wouldn't kill her that night. She couldn't say the same though about mage friends with psychological issues.

The door opened and Anders walked in the room. His eyes had turned red and tears were coming down his cheeks. He didn't look drunk or angry. No! Now he was devastated and in deep sorrow. Seeing him like this made Innora's heart break into pieces. She knew Anders wasn't a prick, just a very troubled man…. or at least that's what she hoped.

Anders grabbed something from his robe's pockets and threw it on Innora's bed. It was a vial containing a bright blue liquid and Innora assumed it was a lyrium potion. She looked at Anders in search for some kind of explanation.

"I can't stand carrying vials on me! It's very annoying!" he explained.

Anders slowly approached her and stopped two steps away from her. He was torn, there was no doubt. He tried to mutter something but words couldn't come out of his mouth so Innora decided to help him express whatever he wanted to.

"So…. You want to tell me what's going on?" she locked eyes with him as he lifted his gaze from the ground.

"I'm an idiot!" he murmured in a very low tone which made Innora kind of lean towards him in order to listen.

"Let's save all the ugly statements for last shall we?" she smiled at him. "What happened to you Anders? Please tell me it doesn't involve templars…"

"No!" he snorted "Just blasted elves and broken hearts!" Anders saw the puzzled look on Innora's face and decided to explain some more "Do you remember me telling you I'd visit Hawke tonight? To apologize to her?"

"Um… yes." Innora raised her eyebrow.

"Well, after I finished some things I had to do , I headed for Hawke's mansion." He paused for a bit to sigh heavily. "I heard voices coming from inside and I figured she was in some kind of trouble so I stormed in to save her, to be her hero, or so I thought…"

Ander's expression turned into a disgusted one in zero time. Innora wasn't sure if she wanted to listen to the end of the story after all, but Ander kept talking anyway.

"Hawke was pressing someone against the wall… At first I thought they were fighting but after a moment I realized this wasn't the case…. They were kissing passionately, touching each other in sinful ways…. I took a good look at the man. I could recognize anywhere his white hair and lyrium-carved tattoos…. It was…"

"…Fenris!" Innora completed his sentence for him. She didn't know if she had to feel sorry for the mage or for herself while she listened to him crying himself out for another woman's heart.

"Yes…" Anders snorted again. "I quickly left the mansion. I doubt they even noticed little me…" he said bitterly.

"I am so sorry Anders!" Innora muttered. She was aware no mere words could take away his pain as no mere words took away hers, when she confessed she was in love with him just to realize the feelings weren't mutual.

She tapped him on his shoulder in an attempt to cheer him up a bit. She could swear she saw his look turning decisive and bold, out of the blue. He gazed straight at her eyes. She could feel his golden-brown ones reaching for the far end of her soul as he did. He began coming closer until his chest was firmly pressed against hers. She tried to breathe as he lowered his head and placed his lips next to her ear, but her effort was unsuccessful. He began whispering something to her while his fingers were caressing her cheek.

"Nora…?" he whispered tenderly.

"Yes?" she asked in a trembled voice.

Anders turned her head, in order to make eye contact again. His soft touch was burning her up inside and there was nothing she could do to stop it. His lips now were inches away from hers and his heavy breathing was waking up primitive instincts and feelings in her. He placed his hand on her waist and pulled her even closer to him, achieving full body contact. He began whispering again, her lips were able to feel every word he formed with his.

"Ease my mind tonight…"

Before Innora could even reply, he passionately pressed his lips against hers while his hands were already working on undressing her. Innora kissed him back fiercely as she began undressing him too. She buried her hand in his hair, without breaking their kiss, and pulled them tight. The fact that his head tilted back gave her the opportunity to kiss him softly on his neck. Anders groaned with pleasure.

Suddenly he stopped kissing her and started grinning; a tempting grin it was. They both had finally got rid of their clothes. He stared at her naked body, his look full of admiration and unsatisfied want. She could tell by his wide smirk that he liked the sight in front of him. Innora was awestruck too. His body was flawless; every single muscle the human body had was visible on him, from head to toe. Anders craved for more than gazing at her though. He caught her off guard when he pushed her on the bed with such force that her hand (the wounded one) landed on the lyrium potion and shattered the vial. For one moment she felt incredible amount of pain as the broken glass cut her but it vanished in a second. Before she could even begin to wonder what the hell had just happened, Anders was already on top of her ready to have his mind eased…

* * *

><p>The next morning Innora woke up in Anders's arms. Her sleep had never been sweeter. She realized that Anders hadn't stopped cuddling her all night. Warmth filled her heart. Who would have thought that Anders and she would actually spend a night together? She had dreams, there was no doubt about that, but she never thought they would come true especially after confessing her feelings to him. She smiled as she gazed at Anders who was still sleeping. He was so handsome. She sighed! She'd better get up and prepare breakfast for them; she was starving and Anders would definitely be hungry when he'd wake up too.<p>

While she was searching for her clothes she noticed something red on the bed's sheets. She got closer in order to take a good look at it; it was a blood stain. 'Well, can't be… I'm not waiting for my period' she thought troubled. And then she remembered.

'The broken vial's glass cut me yesterday…! Oh shit', she said as she looked at her arm for her new acquired wounds. Her eyes bulged out from the shock…. There were no wounds to be seen. In fact her arm's skin was perfectly smooth! Even her old wound had vanished…Innora didn't know what to believe anymore. The glass had indeed cut her, of that she was sure… One simple question was occupying her mind at the moment:

"What the hell is wrong with me?"


	9. Chapter 9: They are coming for you

**CHAPTER 9: THEY ARE COMING FOR YOU**

"Let me check one more time…" Anders said giggling while he was trying to maintain his grip on her previously wounded arm. She was giving him quite a hard time due to the fact that he was lying on the bed where as she was simply sitting.

"No!" Innora protested "We have a serious problem here and you're not helping at all…" she sighed and finally gave in to the mage's pleas and let him 'check' her arm again. She was so weak around him.

Anders gently placed his lips on her arm's smooth skin and began spreading soft kisses across its surface. A familiar feeling began waking up inside her again but she suppressed it, reminding herself that this was not the time. She had to know what was going on but Anders kept disrupting her thoughts, her speech, her everything. It seemed like he didn't care about that elusive wound of hers at all, and had his mind fixed on other naughtier things… Not that this was something bad. On the contrary, her happiness couldn't be described at the moment.

Ander's lips were now touching the soft skin of her neck and his hands were slowly pulling her closer to his naked body. He snorted in a frustrated way.

"Why did you have to put on your clothes again?" he sweetly complained as he started undressing her once more.

"Oh excuse me for not requesting your permission! I was just too busy troubling my mind with silly stuff like why the hell lyrium healed me last night…" Innora snapped at him.

"Someone is upset…" he giggled before kissing her tenderly on her lips.

"Here you are… corrupting me again…" She muttered before responding to the man's kiss. Anders surprised her though and separated their locked lips just to stare in her eyes, smiling and all…

"Look, in about an hour… or better two… we will head for my clinic…" he stated "I have plenty of lyrium potions there so I'll cut you just a little and then pour lyrium on your bare skin and wait to see what happens … Deal?"

Innora could feel her mind getting all dizzy from his golden-brown gaze! How could she say "No deal?"

"Deal!" she whispered in his ear as she started caressing his arm.

"Finally!" he groaned "I thought you'd break your promise…"

"Promise?" Innora wondered loudly…

"To ease my mind…" he kissed her on the lips again.

"Apparently your mind needs a lot of easing" she grinned sinfully…

"Apparently…" he murmured before diving into pleasure again…

* * *

><p>"Ouuuuch!" Innora whined as Anders cut her palm. Anders tried to smother a laugh but she saw right through him…<p>

"Heeeey! It's not funny…!" she whined again.

"So you say…" the mage smirked.

He looked at her while holding the lyrium potion above her injured hand.

"Ready?" he asked her.

"Guess so…"

Before Innora even began to realize it, the blue liquid was already poured on her palm and Anders leaned forward to examine the cut closely. The pain vanished within a second and Innora almost bumped her head with Anders's, just to take a good look at her injury too. It wasn't there though. He raised his eyebrows as a reaction to shock accompanied with curiosity and Innora just stood there with her mouth wide open. She exchanged troubled looks with Anders. She could tell by studying the expression on his face that he was more worried than what he allowed himself to show her.

"At least we found a way of healing you Nora! The thought of you being hurt and me being unable to heal you was unbearable…" Anders caressed her cheek, trying to break the silence and raise her spirits.

"We found a way of healing me… and discovered a whole new mystery… Like being unharmed by magic wasn't thrilling enough..!" she snorted.

What the hell was wrong with her? Innora couldn't get this question out of her mind! Could it be possible that the reason why this blue power or energy or whatever was, 'kidnapped' her from lovely London and dumped her at Kirkwall, was her magic-proof abilities and the lyrium-absorbing thing? Was it the Tevinter mages who transferred her here? But how could she pose a threat, being in another dimension and all? Was it someone else? Uuuugh…

So many questions remained unanswered…

"What's on your mind?" Anders asked her troubled. He was silently watching her as she was sinking in deep thoughts but couldn't suppress his urge for learning where her mind wandered.

"Why am I here? Why the Tevinters want me dead? Are they the only ones? Is it…"

"Wait … Just wait a second!" He shook his head not believing what he had just heard. "The Tevinters want you dead?" he almost shouted at that last part.

Innora could sense fear forming inside her favorite mage. She had forgotten no one had informed him about that night when Sebastian led her to the slaver's den.

"Oh… I forgot to tell you…" she began to mutter but Anders quickly interrupted her.

"Yes, because someone could easily forget mentioning something so unimportant like Tevinters wanting him dead!" he hissed at her.

"Sorry, Anders!" she lowered her gaze "I didn't get the chance… I was intending to tell you though…!"

"Start now then…." Anders said and then sat next to her, placing his arm around her and cuddling her in such a caring way….

* * *

><p>Since Anders learned all about her little adventure outside Kirkwall and the fact that Tevinter mages want her head on a spike, didn't let her out of his sight. The two of them spent the rest of the day at the clinic, healing sick and wounded people. It was a busy day; people kept coming in and seeking the healer's help therefore Innora didn't have any time alone with Anders to talk about the previous night.<p>

She wasn't sure if she ought to though. Back home, some things were better off without conversation but she was burning up inside, trying to figure out what it all meant. Anders's mood had dramatically changed since the last night. He was so cheerful now, whistling and stuff, and seemed to have forgotten all about his sadness and broken heart. Innora preferred it that way so she avoided talking about Hawke and Fenris in case the memory came back again. Being the evil person that she was, deep down, she felt just a little happy about Anders walking into the passionate exchanging of kisses between Hawke and Fenris. She knew that was such a selfish thing to admit and she hated herself for feeling that way but love is love… and gets selfish when a third person is involved, unless we're talking about Isabela of course…

As the hours passed by, and the sunny day gave its place to the mysterious night, Innora could feel the exhaustion from all the day's hard work growing on her. She desperately needed some alcohol running through her veins.

"Anders…?"

"Yes?" the mage replied while he was mopping up some sick kid's vomit off the floor.

"I need a drink!" Innora stated bluntly.

Anders burst out laughing and looked at her while trying to get a grip on himself.

"My sweet Nora…!" he chuckled "If I am ever going to lose you to something, it's definitely going to be drinking to death!" he continued laughing "What could silly Tevinters do to you?" He put his hand on his stomach and leaned forward just a little, probably hurting from all the laughing.

"Yeah, whatever… to the hanged man!" she sniffed.

She and Anders began heading to the Hanged Man. It wasn't a long way's walk but it seemed endless to Innora; her hand slightly touching Anders's, his fingers playing with hers all the time, staring at him when she thought he wasn't paying attention and then quickly averting her eyes when he suddenly was glancing at her direction, and vice versa. It was now her turn to blush, her cheeks bright red and all, just like Sebastian's. Where was Sebastian really? Well she couldn't be bothered! She was so concerned about him when he stormed out of the tavern the previous night but Anders was the only man who could occupy her mind at the moment. She was living the dream… a wide smile formed across her face as the two of them finally reached the Hanged Man and entered.

Apart from Isabela, no other friend of theirs was visible. Isabela signaled them and she and Anders eagerly joined her.

"Well… look at you…" the pirate grinned in such a devilish way. "Finally someone in a good mood. I'm sick of all this misery surrounding this place…"

"Glad to make your day Isabela…" Anders replied in a cheerful tone but Isabela laughed instead at the man's words.

"Honey, if you were to make my day, we would already be in my bed along with three other men waiting in line…" she smirked looking at Anders being dumbfounded "Oh… and I would welcome some electricity now and then… but I guess I'm not going to experience that anymore" her gaze fell on Innora…

"Is it that obvious?" Anders grinned and the pirate smiled a wicked smile in return…

"Wait a second… Electricity?" Innora stopped listening to Isabela after that word.

"Don't hold your breath…" Anders snorted somewhat disappointed. "You cannot be affected by magic…"

Innora's cheeks blushed again when she finally understood what the electricity was used for.

"Oh don't play shy on me…" Isabela laughed. "Like I haven't figured you out… the little seductress you are. If you ever interested in making some money just talk to me and we can…"

"For Maker's sake, Isabela…" Anders protested.

"Oh… alright…! Just an idea Anders! Nothing wrong with simple thinking." She smirked.

"Dear woman, everything is wrong with your kind of thinking…!" Anders sighed. He couldn't believe this woman.

"Oh bring out Justice…!" she playfully requested "He's much more fun, right Innora?" the pirate turned to look at the girl.

"How would I know?" Innora grinned "He never comes out to play! Such a shy spirit…" she tssked.

"Now that you girls mention it" Anders said somewhat troubled "I have been myself for the past few months, except for that one time when the bloody templar took Innora for questioning! It's like Justice isn't with me anymore… I don't know what's going on…!"

"Maybe he's bored… If that's the case; I totally feel for him!" Isabela chuckled.

A loud noise from the slamming of the tavern's door made everyone jump. A furious, on the verge of crying, woman burst into the Hanged Man. She was so beautiful even with that distressed expression on her face; she had long shiny black hair and crystal blue eyes that reminded Innora's the color of the sky. Wait a minute… she knew that stunning woman. It was… It was…

"HAWKE?" Anders almost shouted and rushed to the woman's side helping her sit down next to Isabela.

"I need a drink!" Hawke muttered through her clenched teeth. She looked lost in her own world.

"Here!" Isabela passed her ale to Hawke. "You need it more than me!"

"What happened to you Hawke?" Anders voice broke at the sound of her name. Innora could tell how worried he was.

"Nothing!" Hawke groaned before taking a gulp of her ale.

"Cornelia, please!" Anders begged "Tell us what's going on! Sharing always helps!" he looked straight in the stunning woman's eyes.

Isabela raised her eyebrow and gave a what-the-fuck look at Innora. Innora clenched her teeth and raised her eyebrows in return. Everyone remained silent for a while; Hawke drinking, Anders being constantly by her side and staring at her in awkward ways, Isabela humming a melody, Innora simply observing the other patrons, trying to guess the story of every one of them. There was this curious man in a templar's armor. He seemed awfully nervous and was glancing all the time at their direction. 'Maybe he is sweet on Isabela' Innora thought. There was something so weird about his behavior though but Innora couldn't figure out what it was. 'Well who isn't weird here in Kirkwall?" she asked herself and decided not to occupy her mind with that templar anymore. She didn't even like templars to begin with…

Innora took a quick glance at Anders. He didn't notice her of course. She wondered if he even remembered she was still with them. He couldn't avert his eyes from Hawke and he seemed to whisper things to her but his voice's low pitch exceeded Innora's hearing ability. She let a heavy sigh slip from her mouth and immediately felt Isabela's hand squeezing hers in an attempt to soothe her perhaps? The pirate knew... It was Hawke who finally broke the silence.

"Anders?" she turned at the mage, looking at him with those gorgeous eyes of hers. Innora could swear Anders was melting inside.

"Hawke…" he replied, his voice trembled.

"I'll walk you to your clinic tonight! With all these Qunari problems and ongoing increasing of crime in Darktown, I would hate to leave you alone." She kindly smiled at him.

"Well I didn't intend to…."

"Please…!" Hawke interrupted him "Coterie is already giving you enough trouble and plus I'd like to formally apologize for my behavior when we last saw each other!" she stared at him, patiently waiting for his answer.

"I'd like to apologize too…! Alright then!" the mage agreed…

"Let us be off then…" Hawke quickly rose up from the chair and headed for the door.

Anders looked at Innora. For a moment she thought he was hesitating but maybe she was imagining stuff…

"Nora…Will I see you tomorrow?" his eyes were full of meaning as he whispered these words to her.

"Meet you at the clinic?" she faked a smile.

His face lit up and smiled too. "You bet!" he said and then Anders followed Hawke as the two of them exited the tavern…

Innora sighed desperately!

"Oh dear!" Isabela muttered and then turned to the bartender "Ready three more rounds!" she shouted. "It is going to be a long night…"

* * *

><p>"HAHAHAHAHA"<p>

The two women were laughing their asses off as they were dancing at Lowtown's dark streets.

"Let's do our –hiccup- dance –hiccup-!" Isabela proposed enthusiastically!

"YAAAAAAAAAAAAY!" Innora screamed at the top of her lungs.

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH" the pirate and she burst out laughing again.

Out of the blue, they heard the sound of footsteps… Someone was running towards them but they were too wasted to bother. Innora's reflexes did not respond when the tall man in armor grabbed her by her arms and began shaking her uncontrollably. The back and forth motion was making her all dizzy so she didn't recognize the man at first. After a few moments she took a good look at him and apart from all her mind-haze she remembered where she'd seen him before. It was that weird templar from the tavern.

The man began muttering something and Innora put a lot of effort in trying to make out the words coming from his mouth. It was a difficult task considering Isabela's loud laughing.

"You must run… Hear me? YOU MUST RUN!" the man was in a lunatic state.

"What?" Innora murmured. It all seemed like a dream to her.

"You must leave! Hide somewhere far away from here… You must escape Thedas! It's not safe for you here…" Innora even under the influence of alcohol could see the dreaded desperation in the man's eyes.

"Wait… what are you talking about? I'm just…"

"They'll use you…" he shook her one more time without loosening up his grip. "I have a son, he's a mage… I just can't…" he didn't continue saying whatever he wanted to…

"Look…" Innora began speaking but was interrupted once more.

"THEY KNOW…" he screamed "And they would've already captured you if not for knight-captain Cullen… They don't want him to know and he's slowly discovering the truth. They'll kill him! You must warn him… He can help you… He's not like the others…!" The man looked like he couldn't breathe…

"Relax..." Innora muttered…

"NOOOO!" he yelled… "Don't tell me to relax… I must leave… before they know… Please heed my warnings and leave this damned place too…! I could kill you right here and end all this but you're not the one to blame…"

Innora looked like someone had just slapped her in the face. What the hell was going on? She could still hear Isabela's laughs somewhere in the background. The man released her and stared straight into her eyes! His stare filled with frenzy and fear. He muttered five last words before disappearing in the dark!

"They are coming for you…"


	10. Chapter 10: Deaths and other silly stuff

**CHAPTER 10: LITTLE DEATHS AND OTHER SILLY STUFF THAT MAKE PEOPLE WANT TO CRY…**

Innora woke up in her bedroom at the Hanged Man with a terrible headache and a lot of bruises, probably due to all the bumping at every wall Kirkwall had, during her last night's adventure with Isabela. "Shit", she groaned and cursed herself for getting drunk once more. The patrons of the tavern must been thinking that she's a lost soul-beyond saving or even a whore but then again, these were the patrons of the Hanged Man; pirates, thugs, whores and all the rest pretty stuff. She was a saint when compared to them…

"Damn" she cursed again when she touched a bruise of hers just to realize how bad it was. 'I better hurry and find Anders. Maybe his lyrium potions will help'. She blushed at the idea of seeing Anders and confessing she got drunk again. "Hmmph"! There was something about Anders that she had to remember but just couldn't bring herself to. "Wait a minute…" she whispered. Last night that blasted mage ran off with Hawke to 'apologize'. Multiple waves of jealousy attacked her mind, threw her self-control out of the window and became in charge. "Aaaargh..." she screamed at the top of her lungs; jealousy is such a nasty feeling after all. She ran furiously towards the door, determined to storm in Anders's clinic and yell at him in her loudest voice. Maybe hit him just a little.

As she reached her bedroom's door though, she rejected the idea. At the time, she thought that her maturity and sophisticated personality helped her to get a grip on herself but the truth was that her self-control climbed back from the window, punched jealousy in the face, left it unconscious and brought Innora back to her senses! But little did she know…

She was under the impression though, that she was forgetting something else too. Something important… a matter of life and death… hmmm! She scratched her head trying to remember! Flashes of a man began passing through her mind. A tall man, a tall man in armor, a templar…

Innora's eyes suddenly bulged out in the remembrance of what actually had happened last night. Panic began to form inside her. "They are coming for you" were the man's exact words, his warning. He told her to flee Kirkwall, to flee Thedas! She couldn't go and make a scene at Anders's clinic; she had to do something else.

Innora quickly dressed up, put some clean clothes on, and then stormed out of her room trying to recall the way to the templar's hall! She had to find knight-captain Cullen…

* * *

><p>After an hour or so, Innora finally reached the templar's hall. She would have been there earlier but she got lost a couple of times since any information concerning templars was quickly erased from her mind. She didn't like their way of thinking, their philosophy or them. They were crazy, fanatic or plain stupid. And they lacked a sense of humor!<p>

As Innora was to enter the building, a templar halted her and demanded her reason for entering, in such a serious tone.

"Serah!" the templar said.

"Sir!" Innora replied, looking at him scornfully.

"State your business…" the man didn't have manners obviously.

"Is that how your mother taught you to speak around women?" the girl hissed. She could sense the templar being highly offended by her words.

"No serah, I…"

"It was your father then huh?" she tssked him. "Bad daddy…"

The man's jaw dropped and Innora giggled. She was being mean but he was being rude. Or maybe he wasn't being that rude and her headache was messing up with her mind. Pffft who cared?

The templar cleared his throat and started speaking again, this time in a warmer voice.

"Serah I have to know the reason you are here!"

"Now that's better…" she tapped the man on the shoulder. "I'd like to see knight-captain Cullen!" she faked a smile.

The templar bit his lip and raised his eyebrow. Was she making fun of him?

"Well, serah… You know knight-captain is at the Gallows' courtyard… where he always has been, during the day time, since he arrived in Kirkwall…"

Innora stared at the man for a while, feeling stupid and all… she just had passed right from the middle of the Gallows' courtyard. 'I'll blame the headache' she told herself.

"Riiiiight…" she laughed awkwardly. "I was just testing you… Bye Tom!"

Innora turned her back at the man and made her way back to the Gallows courtyard.

"My name is not Tom…" the man yelled in his loudest voice just so the girl could hear him.

"Whatever…" she yelled back.

* * *

><p>"If it isn't my favorite knight-captain…" Innora sarcastically greeted Cullen. She should be polite if she wanted him to give her information but the man annoyed the hell out of her.<p>

"And the crazy returns…" he bluntly commented.

"Oh… why so serious?" she supposedly frowned.

"Drunk again?" Cullen raised an eyebrow.

"Huh?" Innora muttered. The knight-captain caught her off guard. How did he know?

"I told you I'd be watching you…" he grinned.

"And that's why I'm here…" Innora took a step forward and started whispering in order to avoid any event of eavesdropping from all the people passing by…

Cullen raised his eyebrows and let a heavy sigh slip from his mouth. He didn't speak though. Innora figured he was waiting for her to tell him whatever it was that she wanted.

"What is going on? Who's coming? Is there a conspiracy or something…?"

"Excuse me?" he asked acting surprised but Innora saw right through him. He was nervous and definitely hiding something. Peculia! The templar said that Cullen would help her because he wasn't like the others… There was the possibility though, that he was wrong or crazy and she was risking angering Cullen again.

"About my situation I mean… What's going on?" she whispered again, hoping this time she'll get an answer.

"Oh… about your situation, well let me tell you what; Why don't you go to that healer of yours and tell him to examine your head again. You obviously haven't recovered yet from that hard hit which made you crazy in the first place…" His voice was calm but Innora realized she wouldn't be able to get any info from the guy.

"Well… I'm leaving…" she hissed "But I'll be watching you now…" she snorted before leaving.

"You do that…" Cullen replied unbothered.

What a silly man he was…

* * *

><p>'I have to tell Anders about that man yesterday… or better not… He'll get sick from worrying…! Maybe just keep it to myself… nah I have to tell him… or no I could tell Varric… But then Anders will be mad at me for not telling him… I could ask Sebastian to help me out… where is Sebastian really? Damn… is there a point to all this blabbering?' Innora was thinking aloud while she was making her way towards Anders' clinic. She wasn't sure if she would tell him anything, but she made a promise to meet him at the clinic the previous night, and she didn't intend to break it.<p>

She reached the clinic without even noticing. The doors were locked though. 'Strange' she muttered. 'He said he'd be here… What happened now?' Of one thing she was sure; the templars hadn't caught him. She was at the Gallows' courtyard. She would have heard something if that was the case. Templars love talking about new apostates being brought to "justice". 'Bastards!' she cursed the templars once more… "Oh, where could that mage be now? 'He manages to disappear when I most need him. It's like a habit of his" Innora hadn't realized that she was thinking aloud again…

"I'd like him better if he disappeared once and for all…" she heard a man's voice coming from behind her. There was a certain brooding feeling in the atmosphere.

"Fenris?" Innora asked dumbfounded… "What are you doing here?" What was he doing there?

The broody elf showed her his hand. It had some nasty cuts on it. Far nastier than the cut she once had.

"What happened?"

"I shattered a bottle of wine with my bare hands…" he replied bluntly.

"Ooooh… I see!" she wanted to tell him he was an idiot for doing such a stupid thing but she treasured her heart and she wasn't sure if his kind of "magic" would work on her or not.

"I've tried to endure the pain but it just annoys the hell out of me and I can't fight all that well… so I had to come to HIM…" he muttered through his clenched teeth with this disgusted look on his face. He really didn't like Anders. The feelings were mutual of course…

"Well don't hold your breath…" Innora snorted. "He's not here!"

"Such a hypocrite…" Fenris hissed. "I'm a healer… I help people… blah blah blah" Fenris imitated sarcastically Anders's voice.

He was acting like a 5 year old. Innora shook her head in a disapproving way… What a wonderful and creative way to spend her time; listening to Fenris bitching about Anders… She could as well kill herself right there and then fall into the sea just to make sure she'll really die…

There was something wrong about Fenris though! He didn't behave as he usually did. His eyes reminded her of a pool where mixed feelings wander; anger, sadness, nostalgia, pain and regret. Innora never thought the elf as a very nice person, especially with his narrowed-minded views about mages and their freedom, but she recognized the fact that he was honest and straightforward. She appreciated him for that…

"What happened, Fenris?"

"What do you mean?" he shrugged.

"Why did you shatter that bottle of wine?"

"Why do you care?" he snapped at her. His stare was the very threatening type.

"Fine, don't tell me. I just wanted to help. Sometimes it's better when someone just listens to you instead of criticizing…." Innora lowered her gaze and stared at the ground. If he didn't want to share she wouldn't bother.

"You…" Fenris stared at the ground too "You speak the truth." He finally muttered.

Innora didn't even glance at him. She continued having her gaze fixed on a little rock with the most peculiar shape she'd ever seen, but Fenris' speech interrupted her deep thinking about the rock's bizarre shape.

"You may have noticed…" he cleared his throat before continuing "… that Hawke and I were beginning to be more than just friends…"

"Name me someone who haven't notice…" Innora chuckled.

"Riiiiight…" Fenris tried to smile but failed because obviously he wasn't the smiling type. "Well…a few nights back…. We came really close…" Fenris cheeks turned red. Sebastian had to pay for this blushing chaining event he had triggered.

"Aha…." Innora pretended she didn't already know. Fenris would ask her how she knew and that would be awkward and besides pretending to be clueless was the proper thing to do.

"And after… well you know…" Fenris hesitated for a moment "… well I dumped her…"

"WHAT?" Innora never had she turned her head that fast in her entire life. He dumped her? That's why Hawke was a mess the other night. Who wouldn't be?

"I know..." Fenris snorted and made a sad face "But she made me remember stuff… It was painful… I let her down" he sighed heavily and looked Innora in the eyes searching for some sort of understanding.

"Do you love her Fenris?" Innora asked him, her voice calm.

"I care for her more than I care for myself… If that is love then I must love her… I wouldn't know of such things though…"

"Then tell her… Fight the memories and stay with her… It's what she wants and what you want so why make things complicated when they are simple?"

"That's out of the question… I'm done with her…" the elf groaned. "And things are never simple… you should've figured that by now…"

"Neither are complicated… Depends on your point of view… What can I say? I am an eternal optimist…"

Fenris looked at her amused, for some reason she couldn't imagine.

"Careful with that mage Nora!"

Innora's body stiffened at the sound of the name Anders used to call her. She gazed into the white-haired elf's eyes.

"You deserve better…" And with that Fenris walked away from her and disappeared in Darktown, under the sweet light of the afternoon's setting sun…

* * *

><p>After strolling around Lowtown's streets for a while, Innora decided to check if Anders had returned to his clinic yet. The darkness of the night didn't seem to her dark at all. Maybe it was the light of the moon which made it brighter or maybe it was that cool breeze which reminded her of London and made that night different from the others. Or maybe it was something else… Anyhow she enjoyed her stroll and didn't feel afraid at all when she headed alone to Darktown.<p>

The lantern outside Anders' clinic was lit. He had indeed returned. She knocked at the door three times with a steady rhythm to show him it was her and not the templars.

"Come in…." Anders's voice echoed from inside the clinic.

Innora entered as she was told. Anders was sitting at his desk, rearranging some stuff, throwing away some papers. He looked stressed and turned to look at her only when she was just a step away from him.

"Hey…" he muttered.

"Hello…!" Innora gave him a really wide smile. If only he knew how much she had missed him all day. "What happened to you? I thought we were going to meet here… I came but you were nowhere to be seen." she said casually and in a cheerful tone but deep inside her she was aware that this was nothing but a complaint.

Anders didn't reply though… He seemed nervous and in an awfully awkward state. Innora took a good look at him. Why everyone was behaving in such a strange way today? Was it one of 'those' days again…? When everything never goes as planned? She sighed hoping that this wasn't the case; she had dealt with Tom's, Cullen's and Fenris's weird moods. And now Anders was strange too… pffffft.

"I have news…!" She said hoping that her words would finally draw his attention to her.

"I have something to tell you, too!" he couldn't sound more ominous.

Innora suddenly started worrying about him. He was so sad again, so torn. Couldn't he remain happy for more than one day? Nothing could please that man apparently. She slowly placed her hand on his cheek and stroked it. She went even closer, ready to lock her lips with his once more but he flinched away from her. Innora , dumbfounded as she was and with her mouth wide open, she stared at the man in front of her unable to do anything else due to the shock of the unexpected rejection.

"Umm… what is it that you want to tell me?" she murmured still shocked.

"I don't know where to begin from…" he cried. He looked desperate for some reason.

"Be frank Anders…." She muttered.

"Ok…" he paused for a moment and averted his eyes from hers like he couldn't bear facing her when speaking… At last, he said with a trembling voice:

"I slept with Hawke last night…"

Innora felt her heart shattering in pieces once again. She tried to block the tears from falling down from her eyes but this time she wasn't able to hold them back. She watched Anders as he was trying to get a grip on himself before speaking again: he was on the verge of crying too but he managed to control it. This pained, torn expression on his face though, couldn't vanish. She wanted to run, to flee far away and never to see him again for the rest of her life. She wished she could yell at him, scream, kick him or stab him with her daggers, take revenge for all the pain he had caused her and all the pain he would cause! She wanted to do something…

But her body was unable to move just as her mind was unable to think. She simply stood there, as did he, and they stared at each other for what seemed to be an eternity. His hands were moving all the time, attempting to touch her but they always stopped in midair. Her icy stare sent chills through his spine; he'd never seen her like this before.

Innora suddenly turned her back at him and started heading for the door but Anders grabbed her hand tightly and stopped her from doing so…

"Release me…" she growled.

"I am so sorry…" he cried.

"No need to apologize…" Innora snorted half angry-half broken "Besides you've told me you were in love with Hawke and the only reason you and me happened was to ease your mind…"

"That's not what I said" he protested, shaking his head in denial.

"That's exactly what you said…" she snapped at him.

She tried to loosen up his grip, but was taken by surprise when he forced his lips to hers and gave her the most passionate kiss she had ever experience in her lifetime. She tried to resist but her efforts were in vain. When their lips finally separated she looked straight into his now tearful eyes and whispered a question.

"What do you want Anders?"

It took him a while to answer. His golden-brown eyes continued to gaze into hers.

"I don't know…" he finally whispered back.

"Then I'm removing the dilemma you're facing… You can choose her… I'm done with this…!"

"No… "He yelled as she tried to release her hand from his strong grip.

"Let- me- GO-!" something began to stir inside her as her anger overwhelmed her.

"I don't want to lose you Nora… I am so sorry…We can work things out…"

"Let-ME- GO-!" she could feel it in her body, coming out from the depths of her very soul, scratching her inside walls of defense…

"I'm a Bastard… I know… But please help me through this… I'm such an idiot…"

"LET-ME-GO-! It was finally there, the purpose which was long forgotten, she had to restrain it but she wasn't that strong... it wanted to attack… it wanted to eliminate the threat. Innora tried to stop her free hand from reaching for her dagger.

"I was aching for her for years… she kissed me and I resisted at first but then she…Uuuugh…. I never truly wanted… After you everything changed… I was happy… Please… I know what I want Nora… I'm sorry I hesitated before… I want you…"

Innora's hand unsheathed her dagger incredibly fast and in a way that implied she had done this many times before. With such a violent grace and amazing technique that even years of training couldn't have given her, she pressed Anders against the wall with her small figure causing her no trouble at pushing the man like he wasn't heavier than a child. She brought the dagger at his throat, the steel only touching him but that was more than enough to make warm blood pour out, as the soft skin of his neck was slightly scratched.

What have I done? Innora immediately got back to her senses and dropped the dagger on the ground. She looked horrified at Anders who was quick enough to heal the wound at his throat. When he finished, he stared at her with a shocked expression on his face. Innora let a scream slip from her mouth. She unsheathed every single pointy thing that she possessed and dropped it on the ground too, kicking it as farther away from her as she was able to. She started screaming at the top of her lungs uncontrollably, tears coming down her cheeks. She almost killed Anders? How could she?

Anders, finally out of his slumber, rushed to her side and buried her between his arms.

"I tried to kill you Anders… I'm dangerous… I" Innora sobbed while trying to remove his hands off of her.

"Shhhh… It's alright… Everything is alright…" Anders tried to soothe her.

"No… You have to get away of me… I tried to kill you…" she sobbed again.

"I don't believe that… That was something else… it wasn't you…" he tenderly kissed her on the forehead.

"But it was me… didn't you see... I…"

"Blondie, Snips…?" Varric's voice echoed in the room out of the blue.

"Varric? What are you doing here at this hour?" Anders asked his dwarf friend somewhat curious. He didn't stop hugging Innora though even as she was supposedly trying to break free.

"I came to fetch Snips…" Innora turned at Varric startled.

"What now?" she asked afraid of what his answer might be.

"Knight- Captain Cullen requests your presence at the Docks…! He mentioned someone died… he said something about a templar business… and that you'd understand…." Varric raised his eyebrow.

Anders looked at Innora with an inquiry look. Templar business? That didn't sit quite well with him.

"The news I had…" the shaken girl explained…

"I'm coming with you" Anders stated in a serious voice…

"You're not coming anywhere near me again…" she cried although she knew Anders wouldn't give up that easily… He was the rebel type after all…

"Not happening…." He said bluntly.

"Blondie, the place is going to be crowded with templars. Maybe it's not wise…."

"I'm coming…" Anders repeated again, interrupting Varric as he did.

"I think I'm going to tag along then… You two love birds seem like you're at each other's throats…" Varric attempted to joke but was put off by the dead serious expressions on his friends' faces….

"Literally…" Innora commented as she passed by Varric's side, on her way to the door, followed by Anders… This was going to be a long night…


	11. Chapter 11: Death in the air

**CHAPTER 11: DEATH IN THE AIR**

It was an awfully long and silent walk to the Docks. The three friends did not exchange one word; only troubled looks and heavy sighs. Anders was attempting all the time to come closer to Innora, take her hand into his, caress it, and show her with no mere words but actions how he regretted the previous night. He clenched his teeth as the memory flashed through his mind, trying to make it disappear but such things cannot be undone. Innora, though, was putting her best effort to avoid the mage constantly; she was pulling her hand away when he was reaching for it, she was increasing her walking's pace when he wanted to catch up with her and she did not dare to look in his golden-brown eyes, not even once, in case she would go soft on the guy.

She had to stay away from him; that was for sure. What troubled her though was the reason she wanted to. Was it the fact that she might later prove a rather dangerous person for him to hang out with and in the future harm him in ways her imagination couldn't bear? Or perhaps her heart was too broken and too angry at the mage for betraying her feelings? How could he do that? Innora was well aware that Anders was in love with Hawke but she was under the impression the two of them had this something going on…

"Uuuugh…" she silently groaned. Who was she fooling? Probably herself… Anders was very clear about how he loved Hawke and that the night they spent together was just for "easing his mind". And she was eager then to play by his terms. Why did it bother her so much now, then? Especially when she knew she was being the second in priority "interest" from the beginning of this blasted soap opera? Whatever reasons her mind could find to justify his actions though, her heart was in denial.

"Serah Innora…" A man's voice woke her up from her deep thinking's slumber. She looked around. They had finally reached the Docks.

"Serah Innora" the man repeated while approaching the group of three.

"Knight-captain Cullen!" she muttered, her face stripped from any expression whatsoever.

"I…" Cullen froze at the sight of Anders. He was informed about the company Hawke liked to keep; the mage's type. She had helped mages many times since she had set her foot in Kirkwall after all. He wasn't sure if that man was a mage but he definitely had the certain aura around him.

Anders returned the templar's icy stare. He wasn't to let any templar harm him or his friends. Not anymore! He was almost certain that Justice's energy would pour out from within any moment then but nothing happened… the spirit seemed to have evacuated the host. He could swear that sometimes he could feel him but something wasn't right with all this.

Innora noticed the hateful exchanging of glares between the templar and the mage and decided to break the silence before the mourning of victims would occur…

"You were saying something Knight-captain?"

"It's for your ears only!" he stated without averting his eyes from the suspicious man.

"These are my friends. They will listen to whatever you have to say to me, too." She spoke in such an adamant tone but Cullen wasn't one to break so easily.

"Then you can turn around and go back the way you came." He shifted his gaze from Anders to her. "As I told you before, what I have to say is for your ears and for your ears only."

"Very well then…" she agreed to the templar's terms.

"Come with me … I have to show you something in this warehouse."

Innora could feel Varric's worried stare fixed upon her and could hear Anders's angry groan while Cullen showed her the warehouse they were about to enter. Two templars were guarding it. Innora and Cullen headed that way.

"We'll be waiting here Snips…!" Varric yelled so she could hear him crystal clear. "If you need any help just scream and we're on the rescue…" he said half- joking half-serious. What did that bloody templar wanted of his friend again?

* * *

><p>When Innora entered the warehouse she recognized the horrible stench of death. It made her stomach feel sick but she clenched her teeth and tried to suck it up. She would not allow herself to act like a weakling. Not in front of Cullen at least. He already thought she was a loony and she'd prefer to avoid adding more pathetic self-descriptions to that list.<p>

Her eyes traced the room in search for the source of the nasty odor. She spotted what she was looking for at a corner in the far end of the warehouse. Two dead bodies were lying there. She followed Cullen as he approached the unfortunate dead. Waves of shock struck her at the sight of their bodies. The one was a woman whose body was slashed in half with her insides lying on the ground while the other was a man who was stabbed countless times in his chest, though what must surely have killed him was the dagger piercing his forehead. It was a hideous sight for one to witness. That was definitely a hate crime, of that there was no doubt.

The woman, Innora had never seen before. From the little she could figure out by simply looking at the two-part body, she assumed that she must have been dead for five or six days; that explained the awful smell too. The man next to her though must have had a different story. His death must have occurred hours before or one day top. Innora's hands began shaking and fear overwhelmed her. Her feet wanted to run but her mind ordered them to stand their ground. She knew that man… It was that crazed templar from the Hanged Man; the one who warned her.

"I take it you know that man…?" Cullen asked her but his question reminded her more of a statement.

"I met him yesterday…" the shaken girl turned to look at the knight-captain "He warned me to flee Kirkwall blabbering about something going on…" she hesitated for a while, dwelling upon trusting Cullen or keeping her mouth shut.

"He told me to warn you Cullen." She continued after her pause. "He told me you are not like the others and you're close to the truth and that… that someone wants to kill you just so you won't uncover it…"

Cullen's eyes grew wider at the sound of Innora's words. He examined her expression, trying to guess if she was telling the truth or simply messing with him. Oh who was he kidding? Of course she wasn't lying. He was well aware something sinister was going on and he had proofs for that… He was determined to get to the bottom of this, even if that meant losing his life. Duty always comes first.

"Do you know who the woman is?" he asked without reacting to her warning.

"Never seen her before in my life…" Innora replied looking puzzled.

"She's his wife!" he said through his clenched teeth. "They both visited Kirkwall two weeks ago… Do you know who exactly this man is? His name? His title?" His eyes were filled with fury and sadness as he asked his last question.

"Umm… he's a templar?" Innora hesitatingly said.

"That he is….!" Cullen cleared his throat before continuing "But he's not just one templar. He's a knight-commander who lives in Orlais. One of the most trusted men of the Knight-Vigilant." He raised his voice at the "Knight-Vigilant" to emphasize.

"You speak as if I know what a Knight- Vigilant is…" Innora commented.

"For Maker's sake…" Cullen cried… "The Knight-Vigilant is the high commander of the templar order… everyone knows that!"

"I am not everyone as you may have noticed…" she snapped at him. Cullen let a heavy sigh slip from his mouth.

"Anyway…" he started to speak again "he was here along with his wife, who is… was a templar lieutenant, on the order's private business. No one was aware he was the knight- commander. Only me and Meredith, Kirkwall's knight-commander in case you don't know that too... Well all of a sudden he tells his wife to leave and starts behaving in a very odd way. Then he disappears. I hadn't seen him in the last five days. I thought he had left too but…" his voice broke making him unable to continue.

"He was a good man." He finally said.

Innora began worrying even more now! Someone killed a knight-commander and she had this awful feeling about how all this had something to do with her. The matter couldn't be avoided anymore. The circumstances required her to be brave and bold.

"What have you discovered Knight-Captain?" Innora asked the templar bluntly, hoping to get a straight answer out of him.

Cullen stared directly in her eyes. He seemed calm but under his poker face Innora could see the true feeling which haunted him; fear.

"Meet me tomorrow at my office… I'll tell you everything I know, but please don't talk about this with anyone… No one is to be trusted. Now let us exit the warehouse before that mage storms in here along with that dwarf and shred me into pieces."

"Mage…?" Innora looked at the templar with horror visible in her gaze.

"Oh please… I have bigger problems than hunting down an apostate…! Besides Hawke would skin me alive if I even attempted it."

Cullen went for the door but Innora's worried voice interrupted him.

"Messere Cullen?" she spoke in such a broken voice.

"Yes?"

"Please don't die until tomorrow…" Cullen saw genuine worry in her eyes though it may not had been expressed in the best way.

"I'll try!" He chuckled and then they both left the Warehouse to breathe some fresh air at last.

* * *

><p>"I am coming with you tomorrow, end of story!" Anders's statement held such finality in it.<p>

"You wish…" Innora snorted and then took a gulp of her ale.

"Oh is that so?" Anders raised his voice even more and nearly all the patrons in the Hanged Man turned to look at their table. The mage was about to explode from the fury within. He wanted so badly to accompany her to the templar's hall tomorrow but the stupid girl was playing tough on him.

"Anders, are you out of your freaking mind?" Innora waved her hand with such tense before the mage's eyes and she would have slapped him in the face if he hadn't tilted his head back.

"Listen to your delirious words…" she hissed "You –an apostate mage who also happens to be possessed by a demon…

"SPIRIT!" he yelled and the patrons' eyes were fixed on their table once more.

"W-H-A-T-E-V-E-R…" she slowly said just to annoy the hell out of him "… as I was saying… YOU- an APOSTATE- want to accompany me to the TEMPLAR'S HALL-, which is going to be crowded with TEMPLARS-, and wait there where I will meet up with the KNIGHT-CAPTAIN- of Kirkwall's Templar order". She finished raising her eyebrow…. "Now I ask again: ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR FREAKING MIND?"

"I don't want you to go alone… the templars are evil sons of bitches Nora… that Cullen is up to something I just know it…!" Anders cried and took his puppy look again trying to hold her hand into his but of course Innora made sure it was very out of his reach.

"I will go alone and that's final. I know how to protect myself… I don't need your help, thank you very much…" she snapped at him in such a bitter tone.

"Oh little Nora learned to protect herself now?" the sarcasm was obvious.

"Shut up!"

"Oh… can't accept criticism now…?" the mage continued being sarcastic.

"Why don't you direct your lovely criticism at Hawke and leave little me mind my own business?" she growled at him but regretted her words the moment they were out of her mouth.

Anders' pained expression made her feel like such a terrible person. It was a blow below the belt and they both knew it. The mage clenched his teeth and looked away for a while, trying to get a hold of himself. When he finally locked eyes with her she began speaking again.

"I am sorry…" she murmured "This is neither the time nor the place to speak of such things." She lowered her gaze.

"It is as good a time as any…" Anders muttered. "Nora… I am so sorry. I am a bastard I know. What do you want me to do in order to for you to forgive me? I'd do anything to return to how we were before." He leaned to her side and squeezed her hand with such affection. She didn't try to refrain for once.

"Hmm Hmm…" Someone cleared his throat just beside them.

"Varric!" Innora saw her favorite dwarf staring at them "That was a long bath…"

"Not as long as it was needed apparently…" Varric commented while looking at Anders who had this odd expression on his face like someone had just fucked up a great plan of his.

"Men supporting each other… I should have known". Innora thought to herself when realized at last why Varric was taking such a long bath. She was kind of relieved though; at least he hadn't drown or something.

"Should I join you or am I interrupting something here?" Varric raised his eyebrow.

"YES/NO!" Anders and Innora replied simultaneously and then looked at each other.

Anders let out a pissed off snort before showing the chair to Varric, silently telling him to sit. The dwarf did not hesitate at all. Ale was better when with friends; everyone knew that.

"Sorry Blondie…"Varric muttered.

"Yeah… well…" Anders was about to continue whatever he would say but Innora cut him off.

"I don't believe you two are about to start this conversation like I'm not even here" the girl shook her head in a disbelieving way. "I need another drink…" she signaled the bartender.

"Make them two…" Varric said.

"Three…" Anders added.

"ANDERS!" Varric and Innora both cried.

"What?" the mage put on his most innocent look, ignoring completely Varric and turning to Innora.

"Last time I had a drink I ended up experiencing one of the very few happy nights of my life…. Who knows, if I drink again maybe I have a chance of making it coming back…" He looked straight in her eyes, aching for forgiveness.

"That's cliché…" Innora scorned him.

"You're suppressing my romantic side…" he smirked.

"Just to avoid all the vomiting which was about to occur…" she grinned back at him her eyes piercing through his soul.

"Ouch! I knew there was a bitchy you somewhere down there" his smirk grew even wider

"I'm setting it free to keep the annoying you some company!"

"Hello?"

"Oh fuck you Anders!"

"Would you be as kind as to help me with that last part?" the sin in his grin was obvious as he leaned towards her, almost touching each other's noses.

Innora didn't avert her eyes from the mage's though she knew if she did, she would help Varric feeling less awkward. The sound of an attractive accent was able to distract her from Anders' stare at last.

"Trying to kill him with your eyes? My bow is yours… It tends to be more effective than simple stares…"

Sebastian was there smiling in such a seductive way at her. No, couldn't be. He was a brother of the Chantry. He wasn't allowed to even think of being seductive, let alone be… But unfortunately, he was.

"Choir boy… We thought you dead or something…" Varric smiled at the prince.

"Hey Anders… "Sebastian greeted the mage, in an attempt to provoke him perhaps? Anders did not reply though.

"Am I safe here or shall I take some steps back in case you want to shoot lightning at me again?" Sebastian clearly hadn't forgotten their last encounter.

Anders gave the prince an icy stare but restrained himself from responding. It was better that way.

"Sebastian! We're not here to chat damn it…" Hawke's voice sounded from behind. Everyone turned to look at the leader of the group.

Everyone but Innora... She had no leaders and neither liked the idea of having one. She preferred to answer only to herself and leaders, any kinds of them, tend to suppress that. Of course, there was the tiny little fact that this woman had seduced (or whatever) and slept with the man she loved which didn't sit quite well with her either.

Though Innora couldn't see Cornelia's face, she assumed she was very upset and on the verge of losing herself (for another time…. What was wrong with that woman anyway?), judging by the sound of her trembled voice.

"I need your help my friends…" Hawke cried.

"What's wrong Hawke?" Varric rose up from the chair he was sitting. Not that it made much of a difference though.

"My mother has gone missing…" her voice broke while the words came out of her mouth.

"What?" Innora eyes bulged out. Leandra was such a nice person. She would hate to see her hurt in any way.

"Yes… and she received white lilies this morning… I think that killer, the one we were hunting for all these years took her… You have to help me find her…! Please!"

"Alright Hawke…. Just calm down… Where should we start looking?" it was Anders' turn to speak now.

"Lowtown is our best chance… she was on her way to visit uncle Gamlen…" Hawke muttered "Oh I was so stupid for killing Gascard… he may have been able to help us now…" Cornelia ran her hand across her face.

"Don't be Hawke… He had something suspicious about him!" Varric tried to soothe her. "Let us be off…"

"Wait!" Hawke cried… "I don't have time to find the others and we need more people in case this comes down to fighting…" Cornelia's gaze stopped at Innora.

"Will you come with us Innora? I beg you… Isabela told me you're very gifted with the blades." Hawke pleaded.

Innora was torn inside. She didn't even want to see Hawke at the particular moment much more help her, but her heart wasn't made of stone. And no one deserves losing his family. After all, Hawke had already lost so much and Leandra was this amazing person, one of the few genuine kind souls out there. She just couldn't refuse…

"I will help you Hawke…" Innora finally muttered.

"Out of the question… You're not going anywhere near fighting Nora…" Anders' hissing cut her short.

"And who made you my father?" she snapped back at him.

"I'm not playing your father here I'm just…"

"You're playing her boyfriend then?"

Anders slowly shifted his gaze from Innora to Sebastian, not believing the words slipping from the spoiled boy's mouth. Innora could swear Anders was now imagining millions of ways to make Sebastian regret what he had just said; lightning, firebolts, ice spikes piercing the prince's body and other pretty stuff like that.

"Well do not worry my dear Anders…" Sebastian grinned unbothered by the mage's threatening stares "I will make sure I'm right beside her, constantly watching over her. She will come in no harm, I give you my word, let the Maker be my witness."

"Listen boy…" Anders began dangerously approaching the prince but Hawke got in the middle being very furious and all.

"Oh sorry to interrupt your lovely quarrel but what about we go save my mother you blasted fools?" she yelled at the top of her lungs and startled the two men. "Varric you protect Innora if it ever comes to that… now let's GO!…" and with that, the stunning woman stormed out of the Hanged Man followed by the rest of her merry group.

"Bianca…" Innora turned to Varric's crossbow with a wide smile on her face… "Let's kick some ass tonight…"

"She asked me to tell you –You got it sister" Varric chuckled while informing Innora about his crossbow's answer. He was that special only one who could hear her after all…


	12. Chapter 12: How to lose a life

**CHAPTER 12: HOW TO LOSE A LIFE**

The group of five hurried to Lowtown's centre in hope of finding some information about where Leandra could be. On their short way there, Varric explained to Innora about the killer in Kirkwall whom Hawke had been hunting for several years but without success. Apparently the killer fancied to send white lilies to his or her victims before kidnapping them. This heart-stopping feeling of worry drove Innora to shut her eyes tight and wish Leandra was alright. She would have prayed if she believed in the Maker; but she didn't.

Hawke suddenly raised her hand in the air and signaled them to stop as the sound of voices echoed in Lowtown's empty market.

"Wait… wait… you say you saw Leandra?" The middle-aged man asked the young boy in front of him. Innora could swear she'd seen this man before. He had something awfully familiar about him.

"I told you already, I saw her!" the boy cried.

"Did you see where she went?" the worried man asked again.

"What do I get for telling you?" the boy looked the man straight in the eyes and his words reminded Innora once more that this was Kirkwall and everyone had only one goal; survival.

It was about time Hawke stepped in.

"Uncle…." She greeted the man while grabbing some silver coins from her pocket and turning to face the child. "What about a few silver?" she stretched her hand forward, offering the coins to the boy.

The boy took them in his hands and examined them carefully. His face lit with happiness in the discovery of the fact that the coin was indeed the real deal.

"Wow…" he said with such excitement "these are real silver. I am your man now… I'll tell you everything I know."

"Start then…" Hawke cut the boy short. They were endangering her mother's life more and more with this delaying.

"That lady was here…" the boy muttered "She looked like she was going to get the bridge to Hightown but then a man appeared out of nowhere…" the boy pause to take a deep breath and then continued "he stumbled and fell over right at her feet like he was dead. His hands were all bloody…" he looked straight in Hawke's horrified eyes "the lady shook him and I think the man said 'Help'! She got him to his feet and then the two of them left… And that's all I saw…" the boy cleared his throat after finishing his narrating.

Innora and Varric exchanged troubled looks. This was not going to end well.

"What did the man look like?" Hawke asked anxiously the child. She had to be able to recognize him if she were to look for him.

"He looked like a man…" the boy chuckled and Hawke's uncle let an angry groan slip from his mouth. "He left some trails of blood though…" the boy showed them at a little pool of blood on the ground "you could follow him…".

"You… do that…" the middle-aged man said to his niece. "I am going to return home, see if Leandra had returned or otherwise wait for her."

Hawke barely heard him though. She rushed to where the blood stain was and examined it closely.

"It's fresh!" the upset woman stated. "Come on let's follow the trails… Hurry…" and with that she started running and the rest of her group acted likewise.

* * *

><p>Following the trails of blood, had lead them to a place called the foundry. Hawke did not have the luxury to hesitate or trouble her mind with guesses about her mother's fate so she simply entered the building. Sebastian and Varric followed her right away. As Innora was about to enter too, Anders grabbed her by the arm and stopped her from doing so. She raised her eyebrow giving him an inquiry stare.<p>

"I just want to tell you a few things before we enter…"

"We're wasting time Anders… Leandra may be dying at the moment for all we know." Innora protested. What did that mage wanted again?

"I'll be quick!" he promised. "I just want you to be near me at all times so I can protect you. This place is filled with foul magic, I sense it." He glared in her enormous brown eyes. Sorrow filled him for a moment but he dismissed it just so he could focus properly on what lay ahead.

"I will fight Anders, of that have no doubt! And magic cannot harm me…" Innora declared in an adamant tone.

The mage clenched his teeth at the sound of her words before continuing speaking.

"Alright just… be near me… promise?" he looked at her with such worry and despair that she couldn't say no.

"Promise!" she muttered. Anders sighed somewhat relieved.

The two of them hurried to enter the foundry but the door opened before them and Sebastian's head emerged from within.

"Will you two hurry? Hawke is going to kill you… literally…!" The prince said in such a serious tone.

"We're coming…"Anders hissed at the man.

"Oh and Anders…" Sebastian smirked "stop harassing the girl… she clearly does not enjoy your company so why bother?"

Anders laughed hard and then vanished in the foundry's darkness with Innora following just after him. As the mage walked by Sebastian he whispered to him in such a low tone so the girl couldn't listen:

"Oh how little do you know…"

* * *

><p>There was this certain aura about this place; it felt wrong, evil. Innora clenched her fists without realizing it. Her mind was screaming defense for some reason. The stains of blood were still visible on the ground and Innora followed the red route with her eyes. Her stare froze at the sight of Hawke standing at the upper floor and looking at her and Anders with such fury. Varric was beside her.<p>

Sebastian, Anders and she went up to join the other two and then all together continued following the little blood pools. They had to stop at the sight of a hatch on the floor though. Hawke exchanged troubled looks with Varric.

"This wasn't here the last time we came…" the dwarf bitterly commented.

"Hurry…" Hawke muttered without paying any attention to her friend's words. "My mother must be down there…" and with that Hawke opened the hatch and climbed down the ladder. The rest acted likewise…

They were surely on the right path… Horribly dangerous things and terrible stenches always came in pairs. Innora had to cover her nose with her hand to bear this awful odor. Sebastian offered her a piece of cloth to help her with the covering but she politely declined. She was not a weakling. Tonight was her one chance to prove that and she wasn't about to ruin it.

As the group began wandering around the place, searching for any trails to follow Innora's eyes spotted a body on a table, hidden in the darkness. It looked exactly like Leandra from what little Innora could see.

"Hawke…" she signaled the woman to follow her as she got closer to the stiff body to examine it.

"Please don't be you Leandra, please don't be you Leandra" Innora kept repeating to herself as if that could change anything. She placed her hand on the dead body's shoulder and turned it around. She held her breath for one moment. Her heart was beating very fast. When the face of the woman was clearly visible everyone let a relieved sigh out; it wasn't Leandra.

"Wait a minute… We know that woman don't we?" Anders looked at Hawke and she nodded.

"It is Alessa… the girl who was with Gascard… We have to find mother" she said on the verge of crying and headed further down to the room.

All this quiet was very alarming. There was something evil about this place, of that there was no doubt, but they hadn't seen any actual proof of the danger nearby. Innora had placed her right hand across the handle of her dagger, ready to unsheathe it at the sight of an enemy approaching.

They reached a room which was very different from all the others; it had bookcases, a bed, some chests lying here and there but what piqued everyone's interest was the painted portrait of a woman hanging on the wall with so many candles around it. It looked like a shrine dedicated to that woman. She was awfully familiar. Innora examined her characteristics carefully and then formed a horrid expression on her face. That woman looked exactly like Leandra. Hawke let a scream slip from her mouth and started running toward the corridor at the end of the room. Her mother was in grave danger; she had to find her immediately.

The group followed the what-seemed-to be an endless corridor which led them to a big room. A man dressed in robes was there; obviously a mage. Innora kept her gaze fixed on the man's face as the five of them slowly approached him. He had something very disturbing about him, something that sent chills down her spine. He was leaning over someone who was sitting on a chair; from her delicate hands one could figure out easily that this someone was a woman. The creeping voice's hissing of the mysterious man echoed in the room:

"I was wondering when you'd show up…" the man looked at Hawke with an expression of unreasonable serenity. "Leandra was so sure you'd come for her…".

"WHERE IS SHE?" Cornelia demanded of the man.

Innora shuddered at the sight of the man's wicked grin. What had the bastard done to Leandra?

"You will never understand my purpose…" the mage snapped at Hawke "Your mother was chosen and now is part of something greater…"

"Spare me the demented rambling…" Hawke cut him short "WHERE IS SHE?"

"She is here…. She is waiting for you…" the man smiled like the devil himself. "I have done the impossible… I have touched the face of the Maker and lived…"

"This man needs to be stopped… He diminishes the Maker with his words" Sebastian's hissing was heard somewhere from behind.

"Shut up with your Maker talk will you?" Anders hissed back.

"… do you know what the strongest force in the universe is?" the man continued his lunatic blabbering as he turned at the seated woman "Love…" he answered his own question. "I pieced her together from memory…" Innora felt sick at the sound of the mad mage's words.

She felt someone gently squeezing her hand. She saw Anders' hand wrapped around hers; he was preparing her for what was to come….

"I found her eyes… her skin… her delicate fingers…" Hawke's heart was on the verge of stopping beating "… and at last… her face….."

The woman rose up from her chair in such an awkward way, she looked like she couldn't move her body parts at her own will. She slowly turned around…

"NOOOOO!" Hawke's screams echoed in the room.

Innora's eyes bulged out at the sight of that… that thing. It was like a human puzzle; its different pieces being gathered by the dead bodies of many women and the last one to be added was Leandra's head…

The mage cloaked himself in some kind of energy and yelled at the top of his lungs. Innora felt the ground vibrating beneath her feet. Something was climbing its way up. She unsheathed her daggers and formed with her hands the defense position Isabela had showed her. Anders readied his stuff with his one hand while the other burst into flames. He and the prince looked at each other and nodded. Then they both stood by Innora's left and right side, something that highly annoyed Innora. She didn't need anyone to babysit her…

Skeletons' hands emerged from the ground and shades appeared out of nowhere. Varric didn't want to wait any longer to unleash Bianca's fury at his enemies. His crossbow's attacks were followed by Hawke's vanishing and reappearing behind a shade's back, inflicting great damage to that wicked thing with those daggers of hers. Sebastian's arrows began ripping the air apart and meeting successfully their targets while Anders' firebolts effects could be seen across the many skeletons being on fire. Innora had to help her friends…

Innora spotted a skeleton looking, if it could be called looking since it had no eyes, at her direction. She felt that strange something stirring inside her again. She could sense her body temperature raising and her hands aching to desperately kill something. A wicked smile spread across her face; she knew she could do this. The short girl dashed forward ignoring Ander's cries, begging her to come back. She ran with such speed towards the skeleton archer which was aiming her with its bow…

The skeleton shot the arrow but Innora avoided it with grace, she was now only meters away from her target. Before her daggers could meet its bones she jumped and without realizing it, landed behind the skeleton. "How the fuck did I just do that?" she asked herself dumbfounded but quickly stopped dwelling on the matter. She would end up dead if she continued to. As Innora ran her daggers across the skeleton's neck trying to dislodge its head off, accidentally her bare skin touched its shoulder bones. There was a bright blue flash and the bones moved away from their previous locations giving the impression that the skeleton had indeed dislodged.

Innora took a step back, trying to get a meaning out of this, only to see the skeleton shaping up again. She quickly ran her daggers across its yet unshaped form, ending his existence once and for all. She grinned… she was really good at this… there was something about the rage of battle that felt so appealing to her… Another skeleton, this time with a greatsword in his hands, began to dangerously approach her. She knew what she had to do now… She looked at one of the daggers and then at the skeleton. She raised her hand and launched her dagger at the dead set of bones. The dagger flew across the room and pierced the forehead of the skeleton's skull, disorienting it for a moment. That moment was enough for Innora though to cover the distance between them and finally cut the thing's skeletal spine, killing it for good this time. "I am so fucking awesome…!" she admitted full of pride to herself.

"NORAAAA…" she heard someone loudly calling her name. She did not need to turn in order to recognize Anders' voice.

Within a second the healer was at her side. He shot a lightning bolt at a shade before speaking to her.

"YOU OUT OF YOUR MIND? I told you to stay CLOSE…" he started yelling at her in the middle of the ongoing battle.

"I wanted to help… we're outnumbered in case you haven't noticed… Now shut up and fight…." She snapped at him.

"How the hell did you become so good at killing things?" he asked her without shifting his gaze from that blasted shade he was attacking…

"I don't know…" she threw one of her daggers at the shade, permanently ending its short life and giving Anders a chance to breathe.

She rushed to the spot where the shade had been to retrieve her dagger. When she picked it up, the ground started shaking again. The mage was summoning his demon friends to aid him now.

She heard Varric cursing somewhere behind her.

"Innora…" Sebastian startled her with his words "are you alright?" the prince glanced with worry straight in her eyes.

"I am as fine as I will ever be…" she muttered.

And then the demon appeared… it had the form of a woman but the horns and glowing eyes gave away its fiendish side. It was something evil, she had to purge the world of its existence… wait what?

The demon's seductive gaze stopped at Innora. They locked eyes… Innora could hear the sound of weapons clanging accompanied by the hissing of even more shades but she couldn't be bothered. She had already chosen her target… she started circling the fiend with her daggers ready to stab it if it tried to attack…

"I know what you desire… "The demon grinned sinfully... "I can give him to you… we don't have to be uncivilized… just give in to your wants…"

The demon probably worked its mojo on her but of course no magic could affect… She grinned back!

"You claim you know my desires yet you are terribly failing to guess what I most want now…"

"Oh….?" The demon laughed…. "And what would that be?"

"Your head on a spike…"

Innora stormed towards the almost naked thing attempting to slice it with her daggers. The demon knew better though than to stand its ground. It flew to the left and avoided her attack. Innora tried again but without success… The demon started creating a pale blue energy within its hands… Was it going to attempt to freeze her? She smirked just in the idea of it… The demon launched its frost magic at her but Innora did not try to move or avoid it… She just stood there…

"GET OUT OF THE WAY…" She heard Varric screaming at her before the wave of frost hit her hard….

Innora took a step back. She looked at her cloak and her blouse underneath it. They were completely frozen. She on the other hand was emitting heat since the rage of the battle had raised her body temperature in an unbelievable way. She tried to move her hands but her clothes were in such a terrible state which couldn't allow her to fight.

"Oh what the hell?" she murmured as she hastily removed her cloak and her blouse, throwing them on the ground. The only thing that now covered her woman parts, apart from her bra, was a black shirt that stopped just above her bellybutton. She stretched her legs, breaking the thick ice that was attached on her leather leggings and then grinned at the demon; its expression could be called dumbfounded.

Innora didn't give it much time to think over what just had happened. She jumped forward, knocking the demon down and then landed on top of its body while pressing it with her hands against the solid ground.

"Aaaaaaaaaagh!" the demon screamed "stop… the burn… I can't… What are you…?" it hissed without being able to endure the terrible pain.

Innora couldn't hear the clanging of weapons or the sound of spells' fire anymore. She could feel everyone's eyes fixed upon her. Even the mage had stopped casting his magic and was now watching with curiosity as Innora removed her hands from the demon's shoulders.

Her jaw almost fell on the ground. Under the spot where her hands had just been, there were these huge burns on that thing's skin, which imitated the shape of her palms. She stared at her hands and then at the demon again. It stared back at her and grinned evilly. This was all Innora needed to act. She buried her hand in the fiend's face, causing burns to form. The demon screamed in an attempt to make the pain go away and Innora was as kind as to offer relief. She placed one of her daggers above its heart and then sank it to its flesh. The last thing she heard coming out of the demon's mouth was "The myths were true"… She slowly stood up, leaving the monster's lifeless body on the ground.

No one was moving; neither her friends nor the mage. Everyone was looking at her without being sure how to react. In this time of silence the mage thought it was wise to act… but he chose wrong. The group outnumbered him obviously and the last thing he managed to do before breathing his last breath was shooting a lightning bolt at Anders who was fast enough to block it. Hawke had appeared just behind the mage's back and without hesitating had slit his throat.

Leandra –well sort of – started walking towards where her daughter was standing. The poor synchronization of her feet was slowing her down.

"Mother!" Hawke cried and rushed to the woman's side, catching her as she collapsed.

"There's nothing I can do…" Anders muttered, his words filled with sorrow "His magic was keeping her alive…"

"I knew you would come…" Leandra mumbled

"I tried to find you… I wasn't fast enough…" tears fell down from Cornelia's cheeks. Innora couldn't help but sympathize with the woman and her living tragedy…

"Don't fret darling! That man would've kept me trapped in here but you set me free… I get to see Carver again… and your father… but you'll be here alone…" Mothers never stop worrying for their children's fate.

"I should've watched over you more closely… I should've…" Hawke's voice broke.

"My little girl has become so strong… I love you… You've always made me so proud…" Leandra looked at her daughter and smiled before shutting her eyes for that final time in her life…

* * *

><p>After Hawke burned Leandra's body, the group exited the foundry. No one was in the mood for speaking. Cornelia's blank stare gave everyone the creeps. She looked as though she had lost her mind completely without planning on returning to the real world ever again. All of a sudden the broken woman started to walk away…<p>

"Where are you going Hawke?" Varric asked her worried.

"Home…" she mumbled.

Anders then turned to Varric…

"Varric… I think you should go and fetch Fenris…" he muttered "I think she'll need him tonight…!"

"On my way Blondie…" and then Varric disappeared in the darkness in search for the broody elf…

Anders' gaze shifted from Varric to Innora. She watched as his eyes moved slowly from her free-of-clothes-shoulders to her exposed belly and then back to embrace her stare with his. Innora could feel his burning desire piercing through her soul. The mage then started unbuckling these weird feathers he fancied wearing and without warning her, he covered her shoulders and smiled kindly.

"You didn't have to Anders…" she blushed without even knowing why "I don't feel cold..." the mage chuckled when hearing her words.

"Well, cold was my main concern… among other things…" he said in a tender voice…

"Like?" Sebastian's question interrupted them.

Anders gave him a quick scornful glance and then snorted.

"Like things your precious chantry doesn't allow you to even think of…"

"Oh really?" Sebastian took a step forward and Anders did the same in a threatening manner but Innora cut them short.

"Hey… easy now… I am too tired for your childish fights… I'm returning to the Hanged Man. Goodnight gentlemen…"

"I'LL WALK YOU…" Both men yelled simultaneously and turned to exchange hateful glares…

"I think you're tired with all this healing Anders… Go back to your clinic and relax…" Sebastian played polite but the mage saw right through him.

"Why don't you go to the chantry and pray or something?" Anders hissed back…

"Oook…" Innora raised her hands in the air in the same way she would've if a policeman said "Freeze"… "I'm officially out of here…"

"WAIT…" that double-voiced yelling had begun to really getting on her nerves.

* * *

><p>When Innora practically reached the doorstep of her bedroom, she turned to look at the two men who were following her around like little puppies.<p>

"I'm here… safe and sound… Goodnight…!" she smiled awkwardly at them.

"See you tomorrow then?" Sebastian asked…

"I guess…" she muttered.

"Ok I'll come here first thing in the morning to pick you up then…" Sebastian's face lit up with excitement.

"Yeah… whatever…" she said in a bored tone.

Sebastian waved her goodbye and disappeared in the corridor that leaded to the Hanged Man's main room… Anders remained there though looking very very very annoyed…

"…come pick you up huh?" he asked in a bitter tone.

"Yeah…" she answered unbothered.

"And where will you two go?" Innora knew Anders well enough in order to understand the man was about to explode due to the fury within.

"Sailing…" she smirked.

"WHAT?" the mage's eyes bulged out from the shock.

"Relax Anders… I'm just kidding…"

"Oh funny you…" he sniffed at her…

"He has some chantry business at the templar's hall tomorrow so when he learned about me visiting Cullen he wanted us to go together."

"But I was going to accompany you there…" his whining reminded Innora of a little boy being denied his walk in the park.

"No my dear Anders… You insisted on coming but I kept telling you no…" she smiled ironically…

The healer shut his eyes tight in a way which implied defeat. He opened them again to meet her gaze.

"What happened back there? Do you want to talk about it?" Anders did not seem shocked nor put off. Had he truly watched her actions without being bothered?

"I… I don't know… It all came out naturally… like I had fought and killed many times in my life before. And I burned that demon Anders…" She said trembling.

He gently placed his hand on her shoulder…

"Do you want me to stay?" he asked her, hoping she would say yes…

"NoOooOoO…!" that was a long 'No' she uttered.

"You'll have nightmares… everyone has after their first kill…"

"It was a demon and some skeletons… not sure if it counts as kill…"

"Still… You ended something's life..! That's no small thing! I'll sleep in the chair you know… or on the floor…"

Innora tried to avoid his begging gaze as she pulled herself together in order to refuse… She removed the feathers covering her shoulders, exposing her underdressed upper body as she did… She handed them to him but he was too distracted to notice. He was slightly biting his lower lip, his stare fixed upon every single part of hers except for her face.

"Hmm… Hmm!" she cleared her throat making him blush as they locked eyes. That was a new one… He grabbed his precious feathers but did not make a move to leave….

"Goodnight Anders…" she said and entered her room while he stood there watching her doing so…

"Sleep tight my Nora…" he whispered to himself…

* * *

><p>The healer was right… Innora never had had such a dreadful sleep. Flashes of her stabbing the demon's heart or burning its evil-looking face did not let her rest…<p>

"Oh fuck…!" she cursed. She'd forgotten she had to see Cullen and meet Sebastian… She quickly put on her leather leggings and a white top and rushed to the door hoping she wasn't late or something… these people's lack of clocks was seriously pissing her off.

As she opened the door and stormed outside of her room, she stumbled on something and almost fell on the ground. Luckily her sense of balance saved her from an ugly breaking of nose… or worse… "What the hell…?" she cursed through her teeth turning around to murder the guilty little object on which she had tripped on…

She raised her eyebrows when realizing it wasn't an object or anything like that…. It was Anders! The man was using the floor as his bed and the wall as his pillow. Such an uncomfortable place to spend the night… Innora could tell from his snoring that he must have fallen asleep just a few hours ago…

She sighed heavily as she took a good look at the man sleeping just outside of her bedroom's door.

"You blasted mage…" she whispered to herself "How can I stop loving you when you do silly stuff like that?"


	13. Chapter 13: Conversations

**CHAPTER 13: CONVERSATIONS**

It was so much fun spending some time with Sebastian. The prince stayed true to his word and came to pick her up from the Hanged Man. The poor man had to even wait due to the fact that she and Varric were trying to transfer Anders from the uncomfortable floor to Innora's soft bed without waking him up. It was a difficult task but successful nonetheless…

On their way to the templar's hall Sebastian did not stop talking even for a moment. He was telling her stuff about his childhood, his sinful years of drinking and different-woman-every-night kind of thing and then how his family decided to give him to the chantry. He claimed it was the best thing that happened to him but Innora had her doubts…

"So you're happy with all this?" She asked him once more hoping to get the answer she wanted this time.

"Who wouldn't be?" he smiled in return.

"I wouldn't be!" Innora protested just like a small child would "Being given to the chantry without wanting to and then some clerics telling me I must serve some Maker dude who for all I know might not exist and then prohibit my basic freedoms? A chance for family, fooling around and sex…? Not in a lifetime Seb…"

The prince burst out laughing at the sound of her words. What was so hilarious anyway? Innora looked around to estimate where exactly they were; they soon would reach the Gallows' courtyard. Peculiar! They should've already reached the templar's hall. Usually it wasn't such a long walk and Sebastian had reassured her he knew the way… Was he stalling on purpose then? She felt flattered just by thinking that. He was such a nice guy after all, well without the Maker-chantry-chastity thing of his; but still… When Sebastian finally got a grip of himself he started speaking again:

"You could still have a family you know…" he chuckled "You could marry someone before the eyes of the Maker. He would be your partner for life and death…" a wide smile spread across his face as he looked straight in her eyes.

"And how exactly would we have a child? Rub our noses with each other's?" she raised an eyebrow to make him emphasize on her sarcasm.

"Children huh?" he grinned…

"Yeah…"

"You want children then?"

"I used to want children…" Innora sighed in a nostalgic way.

"But you don't anymore?" he asked confused.

"It's not a matter of want actually… It's a matter of reality…"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean that the way I see things, something tells me I'm going to rot in Kirkwall for the rest of my life. People here usually die at the age of forty maybe fifty if they're lucky… and I don't tend to be lucky…"

"Oh don't think like this!" Sebastian chuckled again "A lot of people here grow old and die naturally, as the Maker intended them to!"

"Oh yeah… like Leandra… a blood mage cut her head off and placed it on plenty of other women's body parts… such a natural way to die…" Innora snorted.

When Sebastian's eyes locked with hers she watched his expression harden. She couldn't quite grasp what it was she saw, but it surely reminded her of self-doubt. Why self-doubt?

"Innora…" he paused for a moment to catch his breath "Maker you're beautiful… and a good person too… I'm just well… Maybe I shouldn't… I think I'm wrong…"

The prince caught her off guard for sure! Was he confessing his feelings for her? He better not… Not now at least… "Why things are always complicated with my love life?" she silently wondered… Sebastian was bright red for once more and Innora was surprised that it took him so long! The prince was about to say something but a man's serious voice interrupted him.

"Messere, Serah…" the templar greeted them both.

"Oh hello Tom!" Innora smiled widely at the templar. He had just saved her from a very awkward moment. She hadn't realized they had already reached the templar hall.

"Greetings Tom…!" Sebastian smiled too a bit disappointed though "I and my friend here have some important business within the templar's hall. I am a brother of the chantry!"

"My name is not Tom…!" the man hissed. Why would anyone think his name was Tom? His expression changed suddenly; was it possible he looked like a Tom? Noooo… this couldn't be!

"Tom, are you alright? You turned pale all of a sudden!" Innora asked the templar standing in front of her. He reminded her of someone who was about to faint…

"Yes, serah, I am fine…" Tom lied to the woman; he wasn't fine… not if he looked like a Tom indeed… he shut his eyes tight in an attempt to make this nasty thought go away…

"But I still can't let you in…" the templar continued "I need proofs of your sayings…" he bluntly stated. He was a man of duty after all and duty always comes first. Oh and there was this tiny little fact that they kept calling him Tom… Bastards…

"Isn't the belt with Andraste's face on his crotch enough proof for you?" Innora sniffed, showing Sebastian's belt to the rude templar. Sebastian's jaw almost fell on the ground.

Tom took a good look at the belt. That Innora lass was unfortunately right. That man had to be a chantry brother… or a pervert of some sort… well either way he ought to allow him to enter… Bah… he hated admitting defeat…

"Let them in boy…" a man spoke from somewhere behind Tom-whose-name-is-not-really-Tom-but-who-cares…

"His name is Tom…" Innora informed knight-captain Cullen who was now standing just behind Tom's back staring at him in such a threatening manner.

"Well… Tom…" Cullen snorted "If you may…" he placed his hand on the man's shoulder silently ordering him to move aside.

Tom did as the knight-captain wanted to and he allowed the annoying woman and the pervert of a man to enter the building. He watched as the three of them slowly disappeared out of his view.

"My…name…is… not…Tom!" he hissed through his clenched teeth dreaming about millions of ways with which he'd achieve tasting the sweet taste of revenge…

* * *

><p>Cullen's office was even colder than Innora remembered it; no rearrangements of the furniture or maybe a curtain of a different color just to make it feel a little less dull. Apparently the knight-captain fancied working in a place as boring as hell…<p>

"You may sit…" Cullen muttered, showing her the chair in front of his desk.

"I didn't plan not to…" she grinned as she the chair embraced her body.

"Rude as always…" Cullen grinned back.

"Not rude… just being a smartass…" Innora bit her lower lip. Man, did she love teasing the knight-captain…

"How could an ass be smart really escapes my imagination but I guess I don't really want to know…" Cullen scornfully commented. Man, did she annoy the hell out of him…

"You didn't die after all…" she stated.

"Good eyes…" Cullen replied sarcastically. He wasn't even sure why he wanted to help that rude, annoying girl…

There was a brief pause. Cullen and Innora had locked eyes with each other but without attempting to speak. Innora watched curiously as the knight- captain grabbed a small key, which was carefully hidden in one of his pockets, and then unlocked a chest next to the bookcase which she hadn't noticed before. Innora assumed he was about to show her a pile of written papers or something like that but she was wrong. The only thing which Cullen was keeping in his hands was a small piece of paper; it looked like a letter of some sort. The knight-captain handed it to her.

"Read this please…" he muttered

Innora grabbed the letter and started reading loudly:

_Your orders are clear!_

_I want you to sweep the area for proofs of this person's existence or whereabouts. Make sure the guards stationed at the Gallows' courtyard remain oblivious of you and your men's presence. If you raise suspicions eliminate whoever you think it's needed. Our mission is too valuable and with that being said I don't want you hesitating when you will have to put down one of our own. If you're caught you know what to do; be careful not to give away knight-commander Meredith's name. It would be catastrophic if the news about her involvement were told to the wrong men. Knight- Captain I hope you understand the importance of the situation. This person is the last one who survived the Tevinters. He is our last hope. Find him…_

_Burn this letter when the mission is complete!_

_S._

Innora was unable to speak. She was staring at Cullen and the letter alternately, trying to process all this information but her mind wasn't functioning properly at the time. The knight-captain was watching her carefully. The girl finally managed to mutter a few words…

"Where did you find this?" she asked lost.

"At the Gallows' courtyard, the day after the massacre" he replied bluntly.

"Do you know whose seal is this Innora?" Cullen showed her the seal on the letter. She hadn't noticed it before, probably due to her shock…

"Whose seal is this?" Innora's heart started beating faster all of a sudden as if she wasn't sure if she wanted to know the answer to the question.

"It's the Knight- Vigilant's seal!" Cullen buried his body into his comfortable armchair while running his hand across his face.

Innora's eyes bulged out at the sound of the knight- captain's words. Why would the High commander of the templar order be interested in her? He didn't even know her! He said she was their last hope… What the hell was going on?

"Are you sure this was sent by the Knight- Vigilant?" she raised an eyebrow.

"Dead sure…"

"And who is that S person then?" she sniffed. Maybe Cullen was wrong; he was just a man after all…

"The Knight-Vigilant himself… His name is Sermont if that answers your question…"

"But can't someone have abused his seal?" Innora asked furious. She knew she had to be right…

Cullen let a bitter laugh slip from his mouth before glancing at her with eyes full of agony…

"No one abuses the Knight-Vigilant's seal…" he stated like his words formed some universal truth.

Innora paused for a moment. She was really scared. Her fate was dancing between death delivered by Tevinter mages or captured by templars… How wonderful…!

"At least they think I'm a man!" she smiled at the idea of it. She had to think positive if she was to survive…

"At least they thought you were a man…" Cullen corrected her, his face stripped from any expression.

"You mean they now know?" Innora looked straight in the knight-captain's eyes.

"Yes!"

"But how?" she yelled but luckily her voice wasn't that loud in order to alarm the other templars in the building.

Cullen then grabbed something else from the insides of his pocket and handed it to her once more. It was another letter… Innora began reading it hastily, hoping it would reveal the answers she desperately needed to know…

_You need to be extra careful! The knight- captain began asking questions. He's on to something so you have to be quick. I will deal with him but from now on you will send me information about the girl through this messenger. We need to capture her and everything must go according to plan. Your assistance has been of great importance to the order and it will be awarded as promised._

_Make sure she's at the Hanged Man when the time is right…_

_Knight- Commander Meredith_

"THAT BITCH…" Innora cried. She was overwhelmed by panic now… someone was spying on her? "When did you find this? Oh fuck I need to leave Kirkwall… but where to? Shit what do I have to…"

"CALM DOWN…" Cullen's loud voice interrupted her delirious speech. "Now listen to me carefully…" he leaned forward in order to whisper in her ear "I knew Meredith was involved in all this so I watched carefully her every move. A messenger visited her out of the blue yesterday and Maker showed me that this was my time to act. I followed the messenger and then cornered him somewhere in the dark alleys of Kirkwall. I retrieved this letter from his corpse… that means that whoever was waiting for that message never got it and that also means…"

"I have to leave now…" Innora finished Cullen's sentence for him. He nodded back.

"Listen to me now…" he grabbed her arms and looked straight in her eyes "I don't know why the templar order would possibly want to capture you but this screams corruption and I for one cannot stand corruption. I want you to go at the Hanged Man, pack your belongings and meet me tonight by the Docks' main entrance. I will see to it that you will be far away from here by this time tomorrow. Please ask that mage- Anders is it? – to come with you. Trust no one else… Someone is spying on you Innora…"

"Why Anders?" the curiosity was killing her.

"Do you know a lot of mages helping templars?" he asked in return. "Now go… Find him and ask him to come with you, I'll have a ship ready for the two of you."

"But what about you?" her worry was genuine. She was beginning to like that templar.

"Do not worry about me…"

"But I do…" she snapped back.

Cullen's heart filled with warmth. She was worrying about his welfare. Maybe she wasn't that bad after all… He didn't respond though; white lies would only come out of his mouth if he did.

"Go…" he said again.

"But what if Anders doesn't want to come with me? He has his life here in Kirkwall…" her own words struck her hard… the mage could easily decline…

"Then he's a bastard and not a man worthy of someone crying a river for him…" He gave her an acknowledging look.

"How did you…?"

"Just go…" he yelled and opened his office's door.

Innora stopped in front of him, on the verge of crying, and muttered:

"Knight- Captain Cullen…" she began saying

"Don't fret girl…" he smiled "I won't die until tonight…"


	14. Chapter 14: Saying goodbyes

**CHAPTER 14: SAYING GOODBYES…**

Innora was panting by the time she reached the Hanged Man. She tried to walk the distance but her feet kept screaming "run"… so she ran! She ran as fast as she could. She didn't care if her behavior raised suspicions or if the Kirkwall folks mistook her for a completely mad person. Her mind was fixed on one goal: reach the Hanged Man.

She stormed in the tavern, and without paying any attention to the patrons staring at her as she did, she headed directly to her bedroom in order to pack her things and hit the road… oh and find Anders… As she reached for the door's handle the strangest thing happened; the door opened and she found herself slowly falling on the floor. Or at least she would slowly have fallen on the floor if it wasn't for Anders to save her from that type of embarrassment.

Innora gave a perplexed look at Anders. He returned it.

"You were the one who opened the door from inside the room…" Innora mumbled as if she had just reached to a fascinating conclusion.

"And you are the one who needs to sit down apparently!" without any sign of hesitation Anders picked up Innora in his arms and gently placed her on the soft bed.

Innora though turned on the crazy mode.

"NOOOO… I can't sit down!" she screamed at the top of her lungs while putting a great effort on trying to escape the mage's strong grip which was pinning her against the bed.

"Anders… let me go… I have to pack… I'm leaving….I have…"

"Wait, just wait a second…" the mage shook his head in a disbelieving way "What did you just say?" he searched for her eyes in hope he had heard wrong.

"I visited Cullen this morning and he…"

"WHAT?" Anders' yell cut Innora short. She stopped trying to get up and stared at him puzzled; there was this very angry expression on his face.

"I thought I'd come with you…" the man complained just like a little boy would.

"Anders, quit the drama alright?" she snapped back at him. She didn't have time for his whining right now. "I have more serious problems than that now…"

"What did that templar tell you?" he asked in agony.

"He told me I have to flee Kirkwall… I'll meet him tonight by the Docks…!"

"WHAT?" Anders rose up from his sitting position on the bed and looked Innora straight in the eyes, hoping she was just messing with him. She couldn't leave… she just couldn't leave… he wouldn't even bear the thought carrying on with his fucked up life without seeing her let alone truly not seeing her.

"You can't leave Nora… you just can't…" the mage half-muttered half-cried. He was broken.

Innora got up from the bed too and grabbed the mage by his arms. Short as she was he looked enormous from down there…

"Listen Anders…" she startled him by shaking him hard "Something is going on and the templars… the templars are involved… that knight- vigilant, that bitch Meredith… everyone… and…"

"The KNIGHT- VIGILANT?" Anders cried "What would he possibly want with you Nora? And Meredith? I mean now that Kirkwall is on the verge of war with the Qunari?"

"They want to capture me… someone is spying on me Anders… Cullen showed me the letters. They will do it here, at the Hanged Man one of these days… I have to leave…"

"Do they know you can't be touched by magic?" he asked with fear visible in his eyes.

"I have no idea but I won't stay here to find out… I can't be captured by templars nor be killed by Tevinter mages… I just won't allow it Anders, I won't…" and she burst out in tears, tears she couldn't hold back anymore… oh how she missed home now…

"Shhhh…" Anders placed his arms around her and embraced her tenderly "I won't allow it either…" he tried to soothe her but his efforts were in vain.

"Anders…" Innora sobbed and tilted her head back in order to be able to meet the mage's gaze.

"Yes…" he replied.

"I need to request something of you…" she paused in order to choose her next words carefully… "I know you probably won't agree but I just have to ask you…"

"Ask right away then… Damn Nora couldn't you sound more ominous…?" he said in an anxious tone.

"Well…." She bit her lower lip before continuing…damn this was more difficult than she thought it would be "will you come with me? You are the only one who I can trust Anders and even Cullen said so and I don't know what to do anymore… I know I ask too much…"

Anders didn't reply though… He seemed awfully skeptical. Innora was watching him as he was lost in his deep thinking…

"I need to pack a few things too then… "His tender voice broke the silence. He smiled at her… "Justice wouldn't normally approve this… I slightly feel him stirring inside me… objecting to my decision but he can't affect me for some reason… " his golden brown eyes remained pinned on her own brown ones.

"I have some stuff going on here in Kirkwall…" he continued "I'm involved with the mage's underground but I guess we can lay low for a while and then start helping the mages again… besides with all the Qunari problems the templars will be busy… and I need to stay hidden for some time too… You can't imagine the amount of attention I've drawn to me these past few years…"

"So… you'll… you'll come with me?" Innora hesitantly asked just to make sure she wasn't imagining things…

He hugged her even tighter than before and whispered in her ear…

"Of course I will… Nora I think I…"

But the knocking at the door interrupted whatever he wanted to say... Varric's voice echoed in the room when the door opened…

"Blondie… oh hello Snips…" Varric muttered awkwardly. Why he always had to enter when these two were sharing intimate moments…?

"What is it Varric?" Anders asked…

"There's a little girl waiting outside your clinic… She's near death Anders, you should hurry…" Varric mumbled…

"FUCK!" Anders cried and then looked at Innora…

"It's alright…" she whispered "Go… I'll get a few things I'll need and then come meet you at the clinic…" she tried to calm the mage down.

"No…" he snapped at her "I'll wait…"

"Are you crazy? This little girl is dying…Go… do your job Anders… I'll meet you later…" Anders averted his eyes from her adamant stare. He stood no chance in persuading her.

"Hurry alright?"

The man muttered through his clenched teeth as he started heading for the bedroom's door. Varric had already left… Innora watched him with curiosity as he stopped just a few steps away from the handle and then turned to lock eyes with her again. All of a sudden he started running towards her again. He pressed his lips against hers with such force, with such passion and she kissed him back without hesitating at all. His hands pulled her closer to his body and she wrapped her arms around him as he swept her off her feet.

When they finally were able to separate their lips, he stroked her cheek with his fingers…

"Don't be long…" he whispered…

"I won't!" she kindly smiled at him.

"I love you…" he whispered again… and thus Anders exited the room leaving Innora completely dumbfounded and bewildered…

* * *

><p>It was dark outside when Innora started heading for Anders' clinic. All her belongings were stuffed in a very small bag which was hanging across her right shoulder while embracing her left hip. Varric had lent her the bag when she visited him to say goodbye. He wasn't aware this was goodbye of course but he must have noticed something odd about her behavior; he was a smart man after all…<p>

Her heart was beating so fast… she did not understand what was keeping it from exploding this time. Man…. In a few hours she would leave Kirkwall and she had no clue whatsoever about where she was heading… Who? She… she snorted sarcastically…. The must-have-a-plan kind of a girl, the one who couldn't stand the idea of not planning her future for three years from now… But then again life used to flirt between her kind and bitchy side since the beginning of time…

"And now that I mentioned flirt… Anders said he loves me?" Innora wondered, a wide smile spreading across her face… "Oh why am I smiling like a foolish girl?" she cried in her inner monologue "like I lack any serious problems to occupy my mind with…" she sniffed scornfully…

She was still in Lowtown when she heard a "crack" sound just behind her back. She hastily turned to check if anyone was following her but she saw nothing. "Peculiar!" she thought as she increased her walking pace "Last time I heard that sound a blue thing swallowed me and then spat me out in Kirkwall…"

She obviously had chosen the wrong thing to say! The moment these words slipped her mouth she heard a hissing sound ripping the air apart just above her head and her reflexes forced her to crouch down… she turned her head in order to look back again. She definitely had missed something before… and there they were… lovely, adorable, fun to be around with Tevinter Mages…

"Oh Fuck…" Innora cursed…

How they found her wasn't important. What was significant now was that the fact of her facing a group of Tevinter mages who were armed with bows, daggers and swords instead of fire, ice and lightning… She realized that the sound she heard before wasn't caused by magic… Oh no… the bastards were shooting arrows at her…

Innora unsheathed her precious daggers and took a step back…They were too many… she couldn't fight them all and expect to survive… she turned around in order to flee to that direction but was caught off guard by another group of bastards standing there…

"I die tonight…" she stated! She hated to admit this was true since death was the one thing she feared most… she hadn't had her chance to live…

Should she just attack them? And what would that accomplish? A glorious death? Hah… There was no glory in death! She had learned that, years ago… Dead is dead… Should she just surrender? And what would that accomplish? These people wanted to skin her alive anyway… there is no worse feeling than feeling hopeless…

There was this familiar stir again… "I don't know what you are…" she whispered to herself "but before breathing our terminal breath let's kick some ass alright?"… Innora grinned at the Tevinter people standing in front of her. With no warning she threw one of her daggers towards an archer, killing him instantly as she did, with her dagger letting his skull's insides out…

They were taken by surprise but readied their weapons nonetheless… Their swordsmen began dangerously approaching her… she tightened the grip around her dagger's handle and then dashed forward to meet her steel with theirs. She was too good though for their kind: her fighting style resembled a graceful dance and her knowledge about vital body parts helped her deliver accurate deadly stabs… Soon the first wave of swordsmen was decorating Kirkwall's dirty ground…

She shifted her gaze just to be disappointed; more were coming her way… Did Tevinters send a whole army to kill just one person? She should be flattered and offer these men glasses of wine instead… maybe chat about their boring lives…

Her real problem wasn't the swordsmen; she could deal with them. Her real problem was the never-ending arrows that kept flying around, aiming at her… She was lucky enough to have some of them only scratched her for now, nothing serious, but she wouldn't be able to hold on for much longer… Would death offer her salvation…? Who knew?

Between avoiding the arrows and killing the men with whom she was engaged in close combat, she didn't notice a rogue sneaking up just behind her. The man was really talented in the art of hiding and the only thing she managed to do was just to turn her head and lock eyes with him. She had to take a good look at the man who would kill her at last… Everything was moving in slow motion, or at least that's what Innora thought… she watched the man as he raised his dagger, ready to stab her at her back and then make his way forward to pierce her broken heart…

He was kind of handsome actually… His skin was dark, a fact that traveled her mind across the lands of Arabia or Egypt… He did look like an Egyptian after all… His lips were neither thin nor full, they had the perfect shape and the man knew how to emphasize on that apparently; he had his rich beard which was embracing the outline of his lips to thank for that. Further up there was his crooked nose! Someone might think this as an ugly feature but not Innora; she believed a man's beauty was hidden in the small things people named "ugly". And at last his eyes; they had the size of the moon, bewitching her with their dark brown color and their almond shape… But there was this other thing too which didn't quite fit the picture of the man. At the center of his forehead there was the most peculiar red mark which slowly was growing wider. Something was making its way through….

Innora heard the loud "clang" as the dagger fell on the ground. The dagger was shortly accompanied by the man's dead body. Innora finally woke up from her slumber. She spotted an arrow stuck in the man's head… she was finally able to hear the voice calling for her…

"INNORAAAAA…. DROP DOWN…"

The girl quickly did as Sebastian asked and bent down… The prince, having the field to play around alone, delivered quick death to the remaining swordsmen without missing a single target… "Who is he anyway? Legolas?" Innora chuckled. She grabbed the opportunity to kill some archers since they were busy attacking Sebastian now, silently slitting their throats…

When she and Sebastian cleared the group, the sound of voices echoed somewhere in Lowtown again…

"More…" Sebastian groaned "Run… we can't fight them all" he cried.

"Wait!" Innora shouted "I need to go to Darktown…"

"Are you crazy Innora? The path to Darktown must be blocked by these bastards at this very time we're speaking… The only way free is to the docks…"

"I have to meet Anders…" she muttered.

"You will… tomorrow…!"

"No…" she cried "We were to head for the Docks together…" she continued protesting…

"Then he'll find us there…" Sebastian bluntly stated…

"But…."

"Listen carefully Innora…" Sebastian cut her short "You will either head to Anders' clinic and he'll find you dead or you'll head to the Docks and he'll probably find you alive… Has the dilemma vanished or do they Tevinters have to start shooting arrows at us again in order to get you back to your senses?" Sebastian was right and Innora acknowledged it…

"Damn… " she cursed… and with that the prince and she took the path leading to the Docks, hoping to avoid more trouble…


	15. Chapter 15:Light beer and gentle treason

**CHAPTER 15: LIGHT BEER AND GENTLE TREASON**

Innora's feet were aching for a minute of rest as she and Sebastian were rapidly covering the distance between them and the Docks with extraordinary speed. She had dismissed dark, pessimistic thoughts like her impression of being helpless and now was sure that she and the chantry boy would manage somehow to get through the night. Besides, knight-captain Cullen would be at the Docks along with a ship waiting for her and Anders to board. "Fuck" she cursed through gritted teeth, "Anders… How am I supposed to get to him now?" The mage was waiting for her this very moment. He was smart enough to figure out that something had gone wrong, but what course of action he'd take was unknown to Innora.

She could hear Sebastian's heavy breathing as he was putting so much effort in running fast when wearing his heavy armor. Innora pitied the guy! She, on the other hand, could easily run since her leather leggings and white shirt granted her freedom of movements. Not such a good choice of clothing though when it came to fighting. She could feel the pain, caused by the deep cuts all over her body, burning her. "Bah…Next time I'll wear a decent armor" she swore to herself.

Being too lost in her thinking about her future stylistic choices, she didn't notice the huge stairs which indicated that they had reached the Dock's entrance. Innora tumbled down the stairs, 'careful' not to forget hitting her head in every single flip she took; if the circumstances were different, she would have laughed at her own stupidity.

"INNORA… ARE YOU ALRIGHT?" Sebastian cried as he rushed to her side, aiding her to get on her feet.

"Oh… fine… I'm just making an acquaintance with your twin brother… He's gorgeous!" Innora mumbled giddy.

"Maker, preserve us…"

Sebastian was well aware there was not even a moment to waste; the Tevinters would soon find them. Without a warning he grabbed Innora and placed her on his shoulder, just like someone would carry a sack filled with grain, and then started sort-of-running. He had to be quick… Their time was running out…

* * *

><p>Anders couldn't stop pacing back and forth. He had already packed, informed some refugees he'd be out of town for Maker knows how long and now was impatiently waiting for Innora to come. She had promised she wouldn't be late but the night's black veil was already covering Kirkwall and the girl was nowhere to be seen. "Maker I hope she's safe…" Anders murmured to himself. He had a bad feeling about all this…<p>

Inside him, Justice was trying to wake up from his slumber and force that blasted ignorant mage to get a grip on himself… It was intolerable… the thing he was about to do! How could he even be such an idiot? How could he set aside all his revolution plans, his dreams of freeing the mages, his fellow friends locked in the Gallows and decide to run away with that foolish girl? The selfish prick became a knight in shiny armor all of a sudden? Bah… Justice wanted to scream, to take over control but he couldn't… he was too weak… and it was all her fault…

Anders could feel his "roommate" stirring somewhere inside him but couldn't care less. Innora still hadn't showed up and dread fear was slowly overwhelming him. "I have to look for her… Something definitely happened…" Anders stated and grabbed his staff. He opened his clinic's door, ready to roam in the streets of Kirkwall in search for his Nora but was startled when he spotted a little boy coming his way…

"HEALER…" the boy screamed… "HEALER" he screamed again, tears coming down his cheeks.

"What is it boy?" Anders asked worried…

"I can't find my mother…" the boy cried "She is trapped in Lowtown and these men block the way…"

"What men?" Anders could feel his heart about to explode…

"These men in robes… like you healer… they carry long wooden sticks too, along with bows, daggers and swords… please, help me find my mother healer…" the boy sobbed…

Anders felt sick as his stomach clenched… he knew who these men were… Tevinters!

"Nora…" he muttered and then vanished in the night's dark ready to kill whoever got between him and his girl…

* * *

><p>"Ugh… fuck… my head…" Innora muttered bitterly as she tried to get up.<p>

"Hush…" Sebastian whispered "They'll hear us…"

"Who'll hear us?" Innora asked puzzled….

Where was she anyway? She looked around in order to gather some information about this place; she saw nothing, literally… Her eyes just couldn't adapt in utter darkness. She let a pissed off snort out. This wasn't the Docks… she glanced angrily at Sebastian; his crystal blue eyes was the only thing she could actually spot in there.

"Why aren't we at the Docks?" Innora hissed and made the prince jump to his feet.

"But we are…" he replied calmly.

"Oh… electricity problems then?" she snorted…

"Sorry what?" he whispered obviously annoyed… "Innora just be quiet… the Tevinters are out there and they outnumber us…"

"Out where?" she whispered this time but without getting rid of her pissed off tone…

"The docks silly…"

"And here is…..?" she waited for him to finish her sentence.

"A warehouse…."

"Why don't you say so all this time?" she chuckled back…

Now that her eyes were beginning to adjust to the warehouse's darkness, she could recognize the you-just-annoyed-the-hell-out-of-me stare Sebastian was giving her… So the Tevinters brought more reinforcements. What the hell? Were they planning on recruiting their whole country's population in order to kill her? "Damn…" she smirked nervously "I'm either that awesome or they're that useless… or maybe both"…

"What was that?" Sebastian questioned not being able to understand what she kept murmuring to herself …

"Did you see knight-captain Cullen?" she quickly changed the subject.

"No, sorry… no one was at the Docks by the time we arrived… the area was empty…" Sebastian whispered.

"Anders?" Innora asked with her voice trembling…

"The mage didn't show up either…" Sebastian snorted, irritated by the sound of the man's name… He really detested the guy..

"Fuck…" Innora cursed. The templar had promised to meet her there and he wasn't a man to break his promises, or so Innora thought. The only thing that made sense, and explained this weird situation she was now finding herself in, was that Cullen was dead. She began sweating as a reaction to panic which was slowly overwhelming her. He couldn't be dead, he just couldn't be dead!

And what about Anders? Wasn't he worried for her? Had he even attempted to find her? And if he did; was he alright – correction: was he alive? Innora held back a wave of tears which was eager to pour out from her eyes. In times like this she wished she could feel the warmth of her sweet home once again. She wasn't a fool though; she was aware that she would never see her home again. So instead, she soothed herself in dreaming of the things she most held dear; her family, her friends, her mage…

* * *

><p>"Aaaaaaaaaagh…" the man screamed as Anders ended his pathetic existence by blazing him alive.<p>

The lost mage looked around him; all someone could see was corpses. Some were killed by his own wrath, some were not… He let a relieved sigh slip from his mouth. "My dear Nora you are still alive…" That particular statement granted him faint hopes and an unexplained feeling of peace; maybe the Maker would let him lay his eyes on her again after all…

"Healer…." A woman mumbled with fear causing her to shake uncontrollably.

"I think your boy is looking for you… he is really worried…" Anders muttered through gritted teeth without even turning to look at the woman. He hadn't time for this crap.

"Oh thank you Healer…" the woman's face lit up with gratitude "May the Maker protect you…"

"Whatever…" he snorted but all of a sudden formed this puzzled expression on his face…

This was something she would normally say… he could even listen to her sweet voice muttering the word… he could even smell the aroma of her skin and see the kindness in her eyes while her figure was dancing in his thoughts! "Damn it Nora…" he cried "I have to find you…" he said determined and then began running again, heading to the Docks…

* * *

><p>"We're doing circles…" Innora protested…<p>

"No we're not…" Sebastian hissed… she was annoying the hell out of him.

"Sebastian…" she adopted her serious tone "I am the one who hit her head hard yet you act like you're seeing things upside down…"

"For Maker's sake Innora… work with me here…" the prince cried…

"Why don't we just go out…? And fight or something? We kicked their asses back there…" Innora found that certain idea of hers appealing, considering how badly Sebastian's plan sucked at the very moment.

"Oh…Why don't we take down the whole Qunari horde while we're at it…?" he sniffed sarcastically.

"I'm just pointing out the obvious chantry boy…"

"And what is that?"

"We're wasting our time trying to find a back door in this huge freaking place you call warehouse. It's so dark we can't even see our noses…. How do you suppose to spot that blasted back door?"

Sebastian gritted his teeth as a response… "Just follow me…" he muttered and embraced her palm with his hand again… The two of them started moving once more…

"Ouch…" Innora cried as she bumped her head on some kind of wooden pillar.

"Will you stop that?" Sebastian hissed…

"Stop what?" she snapped back at him, the coldness in her voice made him to carefully choose his next words…

"Hurting yourself…" his tone turned softer all of a sudden "I don't like seeing you in pain…"

Innora bit her lower lip, unsure about how to reply… She decided to let his comment drop! They were in danger after all…

As they were walking aimlessly, at least that's what Innora thought, she heard a "crack" sound coming from somewhere in front her. It took her some time to realize that Sebastian had just opened a door… No light came out though, neither some fresh air... Innora tightened her grip on his hand and stopped moving… She watched as a pair or blue eyes turned around and stared into her shoulder…

"Just a bit left and a bit up…" she chuckled…

"It is amazing to me that you're in the mood of joking…" Sebastian scolded her…

"Well… what is a woman without her sense of humor?" she chuckled again…

"Alive?"

"Oh shut up…"

"Why did you stop?"

"Because this is not the back door obviously…" she raised an eyebrow to make him emphasize on her words but then remembered he wouldn't be able to tell the difference anyway…

"No but it may lead to the back door…" Sebastian sighed…

"Are you even sure there is a back door…?" Innora protested…

"Every warehouse has one…" Sebastian barely kept himself from shouting at her…

"There is always an exception…" Innora snapped back at him. How could he be so ignorant?

"Maker, tell me I'm not having this conversation with her…"

"Quit talking to the Maker… You look like a fool… and he doesn't exist…" she snapped back at him…

Sebastian shut his eyes tight… he was frustrated but he decided to let it go… He then secured his grip on her palm and entered the new room, dragging her along… they left the dark's darkness in order to find themselves in even more dark's darkness… Delightful!

"That is not very polite…" she cried as the prince wouldn't let go of her hand…

"Polite isn't what I've been hearing you fancy…" he bitterly commented…

Innora's jaw almost dropped to the ground… She suddenly stopped and held her ground…. That was just mean… he was being mean… he wasn't supposed to be mean… he was supposed to be the nice polite one… Bah… She let a pissed off snort out… She released her hand from the prince's strong grip and started to blindly search for a wall.

"What are you doing?" Sebastian asked; his voice had this dumbfounded tone about it…

She didn't reply though; just kept searching for the wall… Alas, she was successful! She rested her head against the wall and just stood there. Her peace didn't last long… She soon felt the pressure of Sebastian's body asphyxiating her! Before she could even mutter a word his nose was touching hers and his lips were just inches away from her own… Her mind was racing as his heavy breathing's warmth was making her feel numb… That was awkward… She didn't know how to react…

"You're…annoying…the hell… out… of me…!" he muttered with his breathing becoming even heavier that it was before.

"Today?" she asked not knowing what else to do…

"Generally…" he snapped…

"I thought you liked silly me…" she chuckled, trying to calm things down…

"Well you're not that bad…"

"What the fuck?" Innora wondered… that didn't sound like the Sebastian she knew at all…

"I'm not that bad huh… well what about…"

But she wasn't able to finish her sentence… Sebastian's lips cut her short! The prince started kissing her passionately, furiously… She wanted to resist but the burn of his lips was so intense she just couldn't play difficult on him. Their lips locked each other's and couldn't break free… He ran his fingers through her hair and then, further down to stroke her cheek…

Another "crack" was heard from somewhere inside the room; a door had just opened and the room suddenly illuminated… A group of people had just stepped in with lanterns in hands…

Sebastian broke their kiss and took some steps back! Innora could finally see him crystal clear; there was a wicked grin spread across its face…

"I'm sorry my dear Innora…" the exiled prince gave her a devious smirk…

"Sebastian? What is going on?" she demanded of him, worry and fear forming inside her…

"Messere Vael… such an exquisite job you've done here… the knight- commander informed us of your fine cooperation but we never would've guessed you'd be able to follow your plan without any implications…" a woman with dark short hair congratulated the prince… she had this accent that reminded Innora of a French lady speaking English for her very first time.

"Thank you Seeker…! It was an honor…" the prince replied, his every word filled with awe… "Um…. What about…?"

"You'll get your reward Messere Vael… of that have no doubt!" the woman stated in a cold tone… "But I need you to continue serving us the same way you did before… I'm sure Starkhaven can wait a few more years for his rightful king…"

"Yes Seeker…" Sebastian bowed…

Innora couldn't believe the balls of this prick… She wanted to run her blade across his sorry throat… Unfortunately she was out of time… Two men who looked like templars, maybe they were maybe they weren't, grabbed her by the arms…

"LET ME GOOOOO…" she screamed at the top of her lungs but her efforts of breaking free were in vain…

"BASTARDS…" she screamed again. She could swear she heard Sebastian laughing as she did…

"Knight- captain Cullen…" the woman turned to the man at her left… "Would you be as kind as calm the girl down? She knows you… maybe she'll behave differently when your blade is the one threatening to remove certain body parts of hers…"

"Knight-captain Cullen?" Innora mumbled shocked…

This wasn't happening…


	16. Chapter 16: The art of lying

**CHAPTER 16: THE ART OF LYING**

Sebastian knew he had to be extra careful this time… The situation he was in required giving his best performance! He had to look sad, devastated, heartbroken and he had to be convincing. There was no room for mistakes. He smirked sinfully picturing everyone's expressions when he'd announce to them Innora's death. "The look on the dwarf's face is going to be priceless" he grinned.

What really worried him though, was that blasted mage! If anyone would be a problem, it would be him. Anders never liked him since the chantry-maker personality crap didn't appeal to him so he was always eager to argue and even more eager to doubt. And at this time, doubt wasn't an option…

Sebastian touched his lips as he was walking by the Docks; he could still feel them burn from the encounter with Innora's lips. Damn she was beautiful… too bad he didn't have the amount of time needed to seduce her properly… At least he managed to steal that kiss… She would have been an exquisite addition to his list… "Well some other time…" he cheered "when the seekers make a sensible woman out of her…" Until then his ladies would keep him company and warm his bed at nights. Who can live without some exchanging of body heat? Certainly not him…

He had almost reached the Qunari compound when he spotted a Tevinter's corpse lying on the ground. It seemed amazing that the templars had missed that… the rest of the area had already been cleared so no sign of battle could be indicated somehow… Sebastian did not know how the Tevinters had found Innora but they turned out to be a valuable asset to their plan. Now the story looked solid... they finally had someone to blame… everything was in place…

The sound of heavy footsteps punctuated in the night's silence! Someone was coming his way fast. Sebastian readied his bow as the footsteps were getting closer and closer. It would only take him a single arrow; he was never a man to miss his target.

A man emerged from within the shadows. Sebastian wasn't able to take a good look at his face but couldn't miss the anxiety, the agony about him. His upset state of mind could be seen in every step forward, in every motion of his hands. The prince spotted the staff the man was carrying! "Damn… one more Tevinter was all I needed" Sebastian gritted his teeth as the man was approaching him dangerously "You're going down…" the prince thought while placing an arrow on his bow. Wait a minute… that man looked very familiar… awfully familiar…

"Anders?" Sebastian asked surprised.

"Sebastian?" Anders stopped in front of the prince, adopting the same surprised look on his face… "What are you doing here?"

"Shit" Sebastian cursed! This was inconvenient. He hadn't count on the mage showing up at all. He had to lie well and he had to lie fast!

"Have you seen Innora?" It was obvious that Anders was on the verge of losing himself. "There were Tevinters in Lowtown, I think she might be in grave danger; we were supposed to meet here… ARE YOU EVEN LISTENING TO WHAT I AM SAYING?" The furious mage screamed at the prince for not paying attention to his words. Sebastian had averted his eyes and now his gaze was fixed on the horizon. He seemed devastated…

Anders' heart beating could be heard in the absolute silence which was prevailing. Something bad was going on, he could just sense it.

"Have… you... seen… Nora?" Anders hissed at the prince while giving him a very threatening stare.

"Oh… Maker…I…I… was with her…" Sebastian stuttered "I helped her deal with the Tevinters in Lowtown… then more came and we ran for the Docks…" Sebastian covered his face with his hand, pretending to be on the verge of crying…

"AND? WHERE IS SHE? WHERE IS SHE SEBASTIAN?" Anders grabbed the man by his arms and began shaking him uncontrollably…

"I…" Sebastian clenched his teeth and took his most painful expression "I think she's dead…"

Anders almost lost the ground under his feet! Every part of his body was feeling numb; he couldn't move, he couldn't talk, he couldn't think. Even Justice stopped striving to be heard. Dead? No… not his Nora… she wasn't dead… she couldn't be dead…

"You're lying…" Anders spat on Sebastian… "Nora can't be dead, she's strong…"

"I'm sorry Anders…" Sebastian looked the man straight in the eyes "By the time we reached the Docks, the Tevinters were on us. Our encounter was inevitable unless we would hide… and so we did… in a warehouse!" Sebastian shut his eyes tight, pretending to be desperate…

"But they found us eventually… We were outnumbered by far… the last thing I remember before they knocked me out is Innora screaming for help…" Sebastian continued, secretly pleased by watching the horror in Anders' expression "When I regained my senses Innora was nowhere to be seen… Just this pool of blood lying on the ground with her daggers being sunk in it…"

Sebastian presented the daggers he had stolen from Innora earlier and then handed them to Anders… The mage began to carefully examine them… Sebastian knew he was trying to prove that these daggers didn't belong to the girl… But of course that was a task doomed to fail…

"But…" Anders muttered while shaking his head in a disbelieving way "it doesn't make sense… Maybe the blood wasn't hers… She could still be alive… I mean you didn't find a body or a c….. Shit… I mean she wasn't there…"

"They probably took her body Anders…" Sebastian said in a low voice.

"But why kill her and then take her? It doesn't add up…" The mage cried

"She was immune to the effects of magic…and that raised some questions… I guess taking her body for examining –Maker forgives me- would be the rational thing to do…"

Sebastian tried to remain calm as Anders pulled him closer until their faces were inches away. The mage was furious, devastated and at the moment especially angry at the prince.

"The rational thing to do?" Anders growled.

"For them I mean…Damn it mage… Do you think I'm happy she died?Do you think I feel fine when I was the one who wasn't able to save her?" Sebastian shouted.

"Don't say that word…" Anders released Sebastian, put some distance between them and then turned his back on him…

"Don't believe me?" Sebastian continued in the same tone… "Come see for yourself… the warehouse is over there…"

"JUST SHUT UP…" Anders turned around. Tears were coming down his cheeks.

He didn't have time for Sebastian… He was occupied by his grief… He remembered Innora speaking to him some hours ago… asking him to help her… if he hadn't gone to the clinic maybe she'd be… Anders broke in the thought… He was striving to recall every little detail of their conversation, of their kiss… Little did he know then that this would be the last time he would lose himself inside her eyes…

* * *

><p>Never had Innora felt so close to death than she did now. She wasn't in pain nor hurt; the templars had made sure of that. She would eat twice a day a proper meal and a certain man –or more like a boy- was constantly bringing her water so she had never been thirsty till then. But this awful dread feeling of despair, agony, and lack of freedom was really getting on her. Time felt like it had stopped! After the templars captured her in the Dock's warehouse, they traveled for endless days and Innora lost the counting after ten… She had hoped Anders or Varric or Hawke would show up and rescue her but she realized after some time that this was just wishful thinking; she had to act solo from now on.<p>

After their long trip, the group of bastards who kidnapped her finally reached their intended destination. It was a city like Kirkwall but different in the same time. It gave you the impression of high class nobility all over the place. Innora wasn't as lucky as to stay there though. Or at least up there… The moment they set foot on the city the group led her –correction: dragged her- somewhere deep down in the city through some catacombs.

The catacombs were cold and didn't lack the occasional stench of piss and rotten flesh. Innora had perished at the thought; would the next flesh to be rotten belong to her? The catacombs- as well as all the rest of her little living nightmare- were endless. They walked and they walked and they walked until finally they had reached a compound of strange rooms. Since then Innora had stayed locked in one of these rooms and hadn't heard from her capturers. What did they want anyway? If they wanted to kill her they would've already done it and if they wanted to use her they would've tried talking to her maybe? This waiting was eating her alive…

There was only one thought which helped her retain her sanity and peace of mind; ways of how to kill Sebastian if she'd ever meet him again. That son of a bitch! How could he? How could he pretend he was this nice, polite gentle man with deep devotion issues and then betray her so easily? How could he fool all the others too? He should've lived in Hollywood… He would have definitely won the Oscars or something… And why kiss her? Just why? Innora wiped her mouth with her hand once again in the remembrance of that prick's lips locked with hers.

And then there was knight captain Cullen… Innora shut her eyes tight and muttered "what the fuck?" He was a templar; she got that. But still he didn't seem like the evil, bad, lying, and treacherous worth of killing kind of templar. She didn't believe it at first when her gaze met his in the warehouse. But she got persuaded when he placed his blade across her throat and demanded of her to follow quietly or die trying to escape…

During their long walk knight-captain Cullen hadn't mumbled even a word. He was always beside Innora but being speechless was his new kind of thing apparently… Twice Innora heard him speak and that was only to answer that seeker's –Cassandra was it? - questions. Nobody messed with the seeker. She looked like the leader of that group of idiots...

Innora had thought of escaping so many times. She had searched for a way out but between the locked door and killing herself there was nothing else to be found. So she just escaped in her dreams. Every single night and day she would dream of the things she had left behind without wanting to; her mother, Don, her friends, London, Greece's sunny days and of course Anders. Oh how she missed Anders… that mage somehow managed to slip past her defenses and win a place in her heart. Too bad she'd never see him again.

She was too lost in her daydreaming that she didn't hear at first the door unlocking. She got startled when the templar who was bringing her food and water stepped in. She got up on her feet "I've already eaten for today…" she thought to herself "what does he want now?"

"Come with me…" the man spoke in a serious tone while showing her some kind of thick rope.

"What do you want with me?" Innora asked hesitatingly. She didn't like the sound of all this.

"The seekers desire to see you!" the man replied coldly. He was so annoying and creepy in the same time.

"The seekers? You mean there are more?"

Innora's eyes bulged out when the new information was presented. "More seekers? Like the one bitch wasn't enough… What was a seeker anyway? She had figured out by now that they didn't directly belong to the templar order and they weren't obviously some common soldiers; that Cassandra seemed superior and high in command.

"Very well…" Innora muttered "I will follow you…"

The templar burst out laughing at the sound of her words…

"Like you have a choice…" he grinned and then tied her hands with the rope.

Together they vanished in the dark corridors and Innora knew somehow that tonight would get all the answers to her questions…

* * *

><p>"Hello Innora!" Cassandra grinned "Please have a seat…" she showed her a giant chair made of stone in the middle of the room.<p>

This room was different from all the others. The lighting was dim and the cold was piercing through her skin. There were no other furniture beside that odd chair and the only people that made it feel less empty was she and the seeker. She searched the room for more seekers like the templar had told her but no one else seemed to be there. Innora sat down –not like she had any other choice- and Cassandra untied her hands.

"You want some ale?" the seeker asked smiling.

"I want to get the hell out of here! That's what I want…" Innora snapped at her.

"Oh… Do not worry you'll learn to have fun with us…" Cassandra continued smiling as she poured some ale in a cup and handed to Innora.

Innora carefully took the cup and conspicuously spilt it on the ground. Cassandra eyes narrowed at the sight of the girl's action.

"Messere Vael informed us you like ale…"

"Oh I like ale… but I don't like you…" Innora hissed through her clenched teeth.

"Well you'll learn to like us…" Cassandra hissed back. "You'll see in time that we're the good guys here… and you will fulfill your purpose… assassin…" Cassandra became excited as the sound of her last words echoed in the room.

"Assassin?" Innora adopted a dumbfounded look on her face. What was the fool of a woman talking about?

"Yes! Assassin!" Cassandra's wicked grin became even wider. "You're part of us serah Innora…" the woman continued "and we never let our people just walk away…"

"Your people?" Innora asked horrified "I… I belong to the templars?" she muttered while her whole body started to shake.

"Oh no… not templars…" Cassandra smirked again…

"Seekers my dear girl… seekers…"


	17. Chapter 17: The seekers of Truth

**CHAPTER 17: THE SEEKERS OF TRUTH**

Innora was studying the seeker's expression. She believed that if she examined her carefully, she could breach through her defenses and uncover her lies. "I belong to the seekers and bullshit…" she cursed inside her mind. This all seemed so unreal to her. Why she always found herself in the middle of the weirdest situations?

"What happened?" Cassandra smirked wryly "You swallowed your tongue?"

Innora gave the woman her most icy stare before replying.

"No!" she smiled back bitterly "I just don't speak when there is such a great amount of stupidity in the air…"

"And she jokes…" the seeker's smirk grew even wider.

"You'd wish…" Innora snapped back. This Cassandra was really getting on her nerves.

"So assassin…" Cassandra turned serious all of a sudden before continuing her mumbling "Your training will begin shortly. Maybe in a few days! You'll see… you will like it here with us!"

"Fuck you…" Innora spat "I don't know what training or other idiotic things you speak about but if you're under the impression I'm spending another day with you crazy people then you're highly mistaken… or plain stupid!"

Innora and the seeker exchanged an intense glare. She thought that Cassandra would be pissed off or simply remain indifferent, but this wasn't the case. She was amused. "Damn it…What do these people want?" Innora asked herself and it was about time she decided to ask the seeker too…

"So…" she muttered "what the hell you want with me? I mean besides my good looks and amazing sense of humor?" Innora raised an eyebrow without averting her eyes from Cassandra's.

"I think I explained before…" the seeker replied calmly "You belong to us… And we never let someone just go…"

"And how do I exactly belong to you?" Innora snapped angrily at the seeker. This was getting very annoying.

Cassandra smiled once again when her wicked eyes locked with Innora's. Her stare sent chills through the girl's spine.

"Because the creation belongs to its creators!" Cassandra muttered "That is the way of life, the way of the Maker! And that is why it was about time you returned to us! Though we weren't the ones to bring you back, we were lucky to find you alive. All the others have perished… except for one! But don't worry about him! He cooperates fine with us and in no time so will you…" Cassandra's eyes narrowed at the sound of her last words.

Innora fell silent for a while. She had to process the seeker's revealing of information. "What creation? Am I a machine or something?" she asked herself but was well aware she was letting all these science-fiction stories party in her head.

"You… created me?" Innora's eyes bulged out at the sound of her own words. If there ever was a sign this situation was getting crazy then it just had knocked the door and said hello…

"In a manner of speaking…" Cassandra grinned evilly…

"In what manner of speaking?"

The seeker laughed loudly and walked forward. Now she and Innora were only steps away. Innora could finally see clearly the armor the woman was wearing. It wasn't a templar's armor! There was another insignia carved on it and Innora was certain she had seen it somewhere before. Wait a minute… that was the chantry's insignia! The seekers were part of the chantry? "I knew these bastards were involved in something sinister…" Innora clenched her teeth and continued her inner monologue "Great, if she tells me I'm a priest or something I am going to murder her on the spot!"

Innora followed the seeker with her eyes as she started pacing back and forth in the room. She looked like she was sunk in deep thinking. After some moments Cassandra lifted her gaze from the ground and stared straight into Innora's eyes.

"I think you must have noticed by now that magic doesn't affect you…" the seeker finally said.

Innora nodded as a response but didn't mutter a word. She started panicking! So is this what all was about? She had guessed, but it is quite different when someone confirms it out loud.

"I thought so, too!" Cassandra continued talking… "And how couldn't you? With all these Tevinter mages throwing spells at you… We're lucky you're still alive…"

"Too bad I am not as lucky as you!" Innora snapped bitterly.

"Hmmph…" Cassandra snorted "You will learn to appreciate us and respect us in time…"

"Yeah… whatever… Why the Tevinters were trying to kill me anyway?" Innora asked. She longed for the answer to that question.

Cassandra stopped pacing back and forth all of a sudden and let a sigh slip from her mouth.

"I think I should start from the beginning… It is time you learn about what is happening…" Cassandra smiled at Innora only to find a cold expression as her response.

"Do you know what the seekers are?" Cassandra raised an eyebrow…

"Apart from bastards you mean? Hmm beats me…" Innora grinned sarcastically.

"You've been hanging out too much with Varric…" Cassandra stated making Innora feel awfully uncomfortable. Sebastian was very thorough apparently when it came down to giving information.

"Oh how cute! Did 'Messere' Vael also tell you how many times I visit the bathroom? How many hours I usually sleep?" Innora tssked Cassandra when she opened her mouth wide, not believing the girl's rude behavior. "You should fire him… these are too much of crucial details for not sharing…"

Cassandra, out of the blue, stormed forward and placed her hands on the chair's arms in a very threatening manner. Her face was inches away from Innora's.

"You will learn discipline girl…" she hissed through her clenched teeth.

She then turned around and put a distance between the two of them again. Innora laughed bitterly. She finally had managed to annoy the hell out of the seeker. That familiar sweet feeling of satisfaction overwhelmed her for some reason…

Cassandra cleared her throat, indicating that she was about to speak again. Innora fixed her gaze on the seeker and remained silent. She was almost certain that the woman could hear her heart beating from across the room. Considering the fact that her brain, heart and other vital body parts were ready to blow up from the agony, Innora was putting quite a show, acting calm and totally badass…

"Our order was formed long ago…" Cassandra's voice echoed in the room, breaking the dead silence. " We have a lot of duties and responsibilities; we act as a check and balance to the power of the Templar Order, we protect the chantry at all costs, we crash and root out corruption as well as we hunt down those cunning apostates whom the templars can't even imagine to ever catch… Long story short; we get the job done…"

"So…" Innora raised an eyebrow intrigued by the seeker's words "… you're not templars, you're actually superiors?"

"Don't ever say that before a templar…" Cassandra laughed bitterly "he will have your head on a spike right then… They don't like the idea of our order being superior to them. But the truth is… we always continue when they cannot, and we always succeed where they terribly fail! So the answer to your question in an informal…yes!"

"I see…" Innora nodded "And you guys are part of the chantry?"

"We answer to the Divine, yes…"

"And the Divine is?"

"I guess your level of ignorance can be justified at this point…" Cassandra sighed before continuing "The divine is the leader of the chantry!"

"A priest then…"

"It's a priestess and THE priestess…" Cassandra hissed…

"Relax seeker…" Innora chuckled "I get it… you're in love with the woman…"

Cassandra restrained herself from slapping Innora at the face and instead she gritted her teeth. Innora realized she was going too far with the woman. Maybe she should start playing nice… She was the one imprisoned after all… Nah, she wouldn't give Cassandra the pleasure; not in a lifetime!

"So…what do the priests want with little me?" Innora smiled wryly at the Cassandra. She was scared but she couldn't resist messing with the woman's head; that was priceless!

"The priests aren't aware of little you… yet! Only a few… and always in the right places…" Cassandra's icy stare gave Innora goose bumps. This woman was the devil impersonated.

"So you guys have gone rogue? Hmmph… should have figured you're selling me all this religious crap just for show…" Innora snorted.

"I don't expect you to understand… I expect you to obey…" Cassandra snapped at the girl…

"Well good luck with that…" Innora smirked sinfully.

Dead silence prevailed for a while. None of the women was making the first move to speak again. Innora could feel Cassandra's frustration building up. It was visible in her eyes, in the way she was pacing back and forth once again… in everything. "I must be giving her a hard time, considering she can't kill me right on spot" Innora thought to herself.

A weird noise echoed in the room. It reminded Innora of a dagger unsheathing… wait a minute… It was a dagger unsheathing… Innora tried to get up quickly in order to dodge the seeker's attack but she was too slow for a woman with abilities like Cassandra's. The seeker pressed the girl's body against the massive chair, forcing her to sit down once more. With a swift movement of her hand she sunk her dagger in Innora's cheek, making warm blood pour out… Even in terrible pain as she was, Innora could swear she heard the metal of the dagger crashing against her teeth…

"AAAAAAAAAAAAARGH…" Innora screamed at the top of her lungs. The seeker… had… just… opened up… a freaking hole… on her CHEEK…

"AAAAAAAAAAAAARGH…" she screamed again! Her shoulder and shirt had now turned red and the blood couldn't stop pouring out from her wound…

She didn't notice Cassandra as she pulled a bright blue vial out of her pocket and started approaching her once again. She didn't notice as the seeker removed the vial's lid and placed it just above her wounded – half torn cheek. She didn't notice as the blue liquid was gently spilt on her face. She did notice though when the pain vanished. She quickly touched her cheek; smoother than ever… She even pinched it just to make sure!

"Lyrium…" Cassandra muttered in a low voice.

"YOU'RE A CRAZY BITCH!" Innora yelled in her angriest, most threatening tone.

Cassandra burst out laughing at the sound of her words though! When she got a grip on herself, she locked eyes with the furious now Innora and spoke again!

"That I am…" she admitted. "You'll learn to appreciate me in a little while though…" a wicked grin spread across her face…

"I suppose you did this for some particular reason?" Innora hissed through her clenched teeth.

"Correct… Just to show you who you are, and what you are capable of…" Cassandra's grin grew even wider.

"And what am I capable of?" Innora was getting impatient…

"Ending these blasted mages and their fool notions of freedom, once and for all…" the seeker said ecstatic.

Innora was caught off guard. She did not expect that kind of answer…

"I am not- ever- going to hurt any mage…" Innora hissed… How could she? Apart from all the injustices the mages were suffering there was the fact that the man she loved was a mage, an apostate no less… How could she? Of course she couldn't… she wouldn't…

"But my dear girl…" Cassandra muttered with her annoying French-like accent "this was the reason you were born for…"

"Come again?" Innora couldn't believe the words coming out of the seeker's mouth…

"Lyrium… I said lyrium… You're rather slow aren't you?" Cassandra tssked her.

Innora gritted her teeth but didn't respond to the seeker's insults; she had more pressing matters to talk about.

"YOU PEOPLE ARE MONSTERS…" Innora yelled furious.

"And why is that? We didn't force your mother to drink lyrium while pregnant with you… Nor did we force the mothers of all the others… They were assassins, and they volunteered…"

"YOU INTOXICATED THEM…ALL OF THEM…" Innora shouted again. She could feel the tears trying to break through as she did.

"We did nothing of the sort…" Cassandra snapped back at her. "They knew the mages had to be kept at bay… The fools were growing stronger… and our forces weren't enough… ARE not enough…"

"Your parents were loyal to our cause… they agreed to sacrifice themselves for the greater good…" Cassandra continued…

"THE GREATER GOOD? ARE YOU EVEN LISTENING TO WHAT YOU'RE SAYING?" Innora couldn't believe the balls of these seeker pricks'. The things that they've done…

"Calm down girl…" Cassandra requested bluntly.

"Don't tell me to calm down!" Innora had gotten up on her feet now, killing Cassandra with her stare.

"Accept it girl… It's in your blood!" Cassandra's lips formed an enthusiastic-crazy smile.

"Never…!"

"Have you never felt the urge to kill a mage outright? Have you never noticed that sometimes you are using fighting techniques you couldn't possible know…?" Cassandra asked her rhetorical question and then continued her mad monologue "After generations of mating assassins with each other, every new one became even more pure which resulted in even more talented seekers in the art of killing mages…" she was almost laughing right now.

"You're sick…" Innora spat on her but Cassandra ignored her comment and continued the passionate speech once again.

"After every generation, the amount of lyrium in the young's blood was steadily increasing. For some unknown reason, when lyrium is drunk by a pregnant woman, it passes straight to the unborn child blending with its blood… and giving us resistance to magic! Almost immunity… Imagine an army of seekers being immune to magic's effects… It was the solution to all our problems…"

Innora felt her stomach's acid unsettling her whole being. She wasn't sure if she wanted to yell, cry or die… she couldn't be one of these monsters… she just couldn't… Cassandra hadn't stopped talking… Now it was clear who pulled the strings around here… the chantry and its seekers… The templars were just pawns playing their role in the receiving end of all the hate from the mages or the mage friends.

"But…" the seeker's voice broke all of a sudden "as the amount of lyrium started increasing in the newborn assassins' blood so did the deaths of the babies… As we were touching immunity, death was spreading across the new generations of assassins… Only a few could withstand the precious mineral in them… only the strongest…"

Cassandra looked Innora straight in the eyes. Innora could see the hope in a madwoman's stare… the hope was…

"You…" Cassandra stated, a wide smile spreading across her face's delicate features.

"Me?" Innora hesitatingly asked…

"Not only you, silly girl…" Innora was quite sure by now that this seeker was suffering from a bipolar disease or something. "You, your generation I mean… the twenty two infants who survived and turned immune… It was a bright day for our order… I was too young to remember it… but I was told" Cassandra chuckled like a little girl would…

"And how the fuck did I end up in Greece, with my parents and miles away from Thedas… or in another dimension or something? Your story doesn't add up seeker…" Innora didn't lift her gaze from the woman when she shut her eyes tight, a sign of sadness, desperation perhaps?

Cassandra let a soft snort out…

"Don't blame us on that one… Blame the cursed Tevinters for pushing us to our limits…"

Innora flinched at the sound of the seeker's words… She couldn't bear more life-altering information…


End file.
